Fate's Heart: Embrace of Fate
by Higuchimon
Summary: When the counter reaches zero, soulmates meet one another. What happens after that can be anything at all. Even risking the destruction of the universe from the influence of the Light.
1. Chapter 1

**Series:** Fate's Heart||**Story:** Embrace of Fate  
**Characters:** Yubel, Juudai||**Ship:** Yubel x Juudai  
**Chapter:** 1-6||**Chapter Words:** 4,052||**Story Words:** 4,052  
**Genre:** Romance||**Rated:** G  
**Challenges:** Diversity Writing, YGO soulmate AUs, L19, 5+ fics; One Ship Boot Camp, Yubel x Juudai, #08, Blissfully; First Kiss Challenge; Chapter Set Boot Camp, GX claim, #42, 6 chapters; Include The Word Boot Camp, #50, sable  
**Notes:** So, soulmate counter AU, featuring Yubel and Juudai. Three chapters in their past life, three in their modern incarnations.  
**Summary:** When the counter reaches zero, soulmates meet one another. What happens after that can be anything at all. Even risking the destruction of the universe from the influence of the Light.

* * *

Juudai fidgeted in his far too plushly cushioned chair, trying to smile at the next person in line. He thought he managed it pretty well. He rubbed the back of his head and leaned back, staring at the counter on his arm out of the corner of his eye.

_Half an hour to go._ He kept the smile plastered on his face. It wasn't a real smile. He didn't feel like smiling, not tonight. Tonight was _boring_.

Tonight was supposed to be the most exciting night of his life, or at least to rate up in the top ten or so. Tonight was his Soulmate Party. Tonight his parents had gathered all the people in the city and the kingdom and a few from the outlying kingdoms they had friendly ties with, everyone who had a counter that ran out tonight.

One of them, supposedly, was his soulmate. The most important person in the world to him. Probably not the person he'd hate the most – that was the Light of Ruin, or so he'd been told, and that didn't exactly come with arms for a timer to be on – but someone vitally important to him for the rest of his life and probably all of his future incarnations as well.

He didn't need to look up to feel the weight of his mother's gaze on him. Like all mothers, Queen Kaien had that sort of ability. He tilted his head towards her and tried to convey how unutterably happy he actually wasn't.

"Be patient, Juudai," she murmured from her position behind him. "You'll meet them."

He sure hoped so. All the timers had been checked against his and none of them had it down to the same second. As far as he was concerned, that meant none of them were the one and they could all go home or try to meet other people or anything that they wanted to do that wasn't hang around him trying to be there when the fateful moment struck.

_This would probably be a lot easier if soulmate counters didn't exist. Or if I didn't have one._ People wouldn't crowd around trying to see his wrist or throng up waiting for the timer to strike zero. They'd give him some _space_!

Juudai jerked himself to his feet, grumbling under his breath. All of those near him stared as if they expected him to declare that he'd just decided who his soulmate had to be. Instead, he turned to his mother.

"I'm going for a walk in the garden." He shot a quick glance at everyone else. "Alone." He hoped they got the message.

Queen Kaien tilted her head. "Of course, son. Do let us know if you meet anyone interesting."

By which she meant 'meet your soulmate', of course. Juudai had no idea of who that person would be, other than someone who wasn't in the ballroom. But as he hurried to the nearest door, aching for some clean cool air, he didn't think he would have cared if he'd actually met them or not.

The silver sphere of the full moon rode high tonight, with sparking darts of stars filling the rest of the sky. Juudai only gave them a cursory look. He wasn't much of one for sky staring, though it could be kind of interesting with the right company.

Tonight he just wanted the peace and quiet that the Soulmate Party wasn't giving him. He breathed in deeply, fighting his jangled nerves down. Everything was _supposed_ to be fun tonight. Everything was _supposed_ to end with him finding that one person for him and being thrilled to the core of his soul for all eternity.

And yet they weren't there. He wasn't sure of where they were. What little he could get from the Darkness – being Haou did have some perks, after all – just said the person that matched his counter, that matched him, was out there somewhere.

He settled himself on a marble bench in the darkest part of the garden. He could still see and hear everything going on at the party, but he wasn't there and they weren't trying to nag at him. That made it all so much better.

Juudai didn't look at the counter. He could feel it going down with every second but it wasn't _time_ yet. He wanted it to sneak up on him, at least as much as the marker of his future could.

His stomach rumbled a little. He hadn't eaten anything at the party; partly because he hadn't been hungry then and partly because of how his nerves jangled and twitched.

_Having everyone stare at me if I so much as twitched towards anyone didn't help, either._

Maybe once he met whoever it was, they could go get something to eat together. They'd have to talk, wouldn't they? They could talk while they ate. He'd seen his parents doing that before. It shouldn't be all that hard.

Warmth spiraled up from his left arm. Juudai glanced at it in annoyance; he wasn't getting sick, was he? Fevers didn't start in the arm and they really didn't start like that.

A minute left. Only a minute. Where had all the rest of the time gone? He could hear confused noises coming from the chamber inside, and his mother's voice attempting to calm people down. He started to sit up, wondering what the whole problem was. What could it be, tonight?

Footsteps brushed through the grass. Juudai whirled that way, his heart thudding in his chest, forgetting that there were other people in the universe. He knew that was a bad things; he shouldn't do that. But the final minute faded away and he could see a shape coming towards him.

A shape that raised an arm and leaped closer to him, a sudden wild yell cracking, and Juudai found himself on his back, a knife gleaming in the moonlight before it came down towards him…

* * *

Yubel didn't know their way around Shadowshaven. That wasn't so unusual; they hadn't been there for more than a couple of hours. They had one goal: find a place to stay long enough so that they could get washed up and changed and go to the palace for the Soulmate Party.

For _Prince Juudai's_ Soulmate Party.

Yubel knew their timer ran out that night. They'd known for months it would be tonight. What they hadn't known, what no one knew, was who they would meet when the timer dropped to zero.

They glanced down again; another hour or so remained until the fateful moment.

_I'm not going to meet my soulmate looking like this._ After months on the road and limited time to take care of themselves, this wasn't the best that they'd ever looked. Dust in their hair and a thin coating of it all over them – mostly because they'd been passed by carts on the road more than once. Mud splattered their lower legs as well, from some of those carts.

Yubel stared up to where the palace rose over the streets. There wasn't any guarantee that they would meet their soulmate at the party, but since they would meet whoever it was tonight, Yubel thought it was just as good a place as any to check. Soulmate Parties meant that lots of people whose timers ran out at the same time would be gathered together.

Not for a moment did Yubel think that their soulmate would be Prince Juudai himself. Yubel studied history and politics and soulmate theory just like anyone else in their position back home.

_Princes usually have soulmates who are nobility at least. Sometimes other royalty._ That wasn't always the case, but enough so that Yubel knew that the odds were against them. So they focused instead on what was far more likely: their soulmate was one of the other guests, perhaps one of those rare commoners who would be there for the same purpose they were.

Soulmate counters were quite odd things. Yubel wondered what it would be like once they actually met one another. Whoever their other person was.

The closer it grew to nightfall, the more crowded the streets became, and the more Yubel wanted to find anywhere they could get clean at and then head to the palace. Even with their timer clearly expiring that night, they likely wouldn't be allowed in if they didn't look decent.

_Water!_ Yubel spied a fountain in the square ahead and hurried there, pushing their way through the crowd, most of which ignored them in favor of their own pursuits. Yubel settled by the fountain – there were benches there for that purpose – and hurriedly washed, keeping a quick eye out for anyone who might want to argue with them doing it here.

This did seem to be a public fountain, though. Going to one of the local wells might've been possible, but Yubel had seen the lines there. They'd never get through in time to go to the palace, and they didn't want to stretch how the counter would resolve.

Once all the dust and mud had been washed away, Yubel dug into their bag for the outfit they'd planned to wear tonight. Their eyes widened as they pulled it out.

"What happened?" Yubel murmured, resting a hand on the large rent along one side. They'd kept it carefully wrapped up all this time and there wasn't any reason this should have happened. But there the hole was all the same.

After all this time on the road, Yubel knew how to sew, fixing up minor wear and tear on their travel outfits. But there wasn't enough material and thread in their supplies to deal with this and it would take even the best tailors far, far too long to fix it tonight.

"Excuse me."

Yubel jerked their head up to see a young woman addressing her. They blinked, nodding acknowledgment, wondering what she wanted.

"Are you here for the Soulmate Party tonight?" The woman gazed at her with kind, gentle eyes and Yubel nodded a bit blankly. "I thought so." Her attention shifted to the tunic in Yubel's hands. "I don't know anyone who could get that fixed for you, but I've got an outfit that might fit you if you want to try it. You shouldn't meet your soulmate looking like you just walked out of a ragbag!"

Yubel tried not to laugh; they'd been thinking the same thing. "Thank you so much." They rose to their feet. "My name's Yubel."

"A pleasure to meet you, Yubel. I'm Claret." Claret bent her head gracefully in a nod. "Do you have an invitation?" A small smile fluttered around her lips. "I suspect not."

Yubel cast a glance at their own disheveled self, even after the quick wash. "No. But my timer should get me in."

"You're quite right. But if you'd like, I can help you there." Claret nodded towards the palace. "I will be attending as part of the festivities – I'm a harpist. The palace can be confusing if you don't know it very well."

"I think it would be even if you did." Yubel admitted, falling into step beside Claret as the other started to guide them through the streets. "I've never been in one, though."

"I've only been in the one here. It's like any huge house that people have built on for centuries. Confusing and cold at the worst times."

Yubel found a laugh tapping at their lips. This would be an interesting evening for certain.

* * *

So it proved to be, as Claret helped Yubel get a proper bath and dressed in the outfit she'd suggested: made of warm velvet and fine silk, in shades of deep blue that complemented Yubel's coloring, and well made boots of dyed leather. Yubel carefully cleaned the gemstone adornment for their forehead and settled it back where it belonged after brushing their hair.

Being guided to the palace meant it didn't take as long to gt there as Yubel feared it might. The guards nodded the two of them through after a quick check of Claret's credentials and inspecting Yubel's counter.

Yubel looked over the whole gathering, their heart clenching as they did. They couldn't see the prince, but that wasn't a surprise. They wouldn't have wanted to stick around in this stuffy place either, not when everyone stared as if Prince Juudai were the finest of foods and everyone wanted to keep him to themselves but he'd been made just for one person and no one knew who that was.

Yubel thought they'd gotten lost in that thought a little and decided to just look around and see what they could see.

It didn't turn out to be that much. There were people whose counters were within minutes of running out and a lot of them were trying to introduce themselves to each other, hoping to have that final moment happen and to look into another set of eyes and find that bond flowering.

Yubel could feel their own counter winding itself down to within a few minutes. They wandered closer to one of the doors that led to the outside, which was soaked in silver moonlight. At the far end, near what Yubel thought might be a bench, they could see a shape that made them tingle all over. It was a sensation they'd never felt before.

"Majesty!"

Yubel snapped their head around to see a pair of guards dragging a struggling figure towards the king and queen. At the same moment, warmth spiraled up from their left arm, and a sense of _need_ overflowed through them.

He was in danger. He needed help. He needed Yubel.

Yubel had always wanted to be needed. They hoped from the bottom of their heart to find out that their soulmate truly needed them.

Outside. They slammed the door open and leaped out just in time to see the shadowy figure they'd seen before fighting against another figure, a knife gleaming in the moonlight. Yubel snarled, wishing they had claws and fangs for a single heartbeat before leaping forward, tackling the attacker across the half-seen garden.

The attacker swore, language Yubel hadn't ever heard before and didn't care if they'd ever heard again, straining against Yubel's fierce defense. They brought up their leg as high as they could before slamming it down onto the attacker's stomach. It was a risky move; the attempted murderer could have armor of some kind, or perhaps magical defenses.

They didn't. They'd made such a mistake and Yubel exploited it ruthlessly. Yubel followed that hit with another, this time slamming their fist into their opponent's chest, feeling bone crunch underneath.

One more hit, this time a blow to the attacker's throat, ended the fight, sending them crashing to the ground. Yubel stared for a few moments, breathing hard and fast, before turning around, their arm all but scorching now.

He brought himself to his feet, his eyes wide, staring in surprise at the wreck of the attacker before he looked towards Yubel. Yubel's throat dried at the dawning realization that their counter had just hit zero and they looked into the face of Prince Juudai.

* * *

Juudai stared at the new arrival. He'd seen only a few moments of the fight, but that was enough to know he'd been saved. He'd barely realized he was being attacked in the first place before whoever this was came out of nowhere, slashing into the person trying to attack him.

He swallowed. He stared into eyes that shone bright as gemstones, staring back at him. He could feel the warmth on his left arm and slowly raised it enough so he could see it glimmering in shades of blue.

"Hi," he whispered, not lifting his eyes. He wasn't sure if he'd ever look away from them again. He couldn't think of why he would want to.

"Hi," the strange murmured back. They were about his height, with hair of turquoise blue green and eyes that all but glowed as they looked back. A gemstone shimmered in the center of their forehead – a symbol of knighthood from a distant kingdom that Juudai couldn't remember the name of at the moment. That would probably explain how they'd fought so very well.

Juudai swallowed. He started to reach his hand out, then pulled it back. Every part of him thrummed to the idea that this was his soulmate, someone that he'd waited for ever since he'd come into this life.

But he wasn't going to touch until they wanted him to. Until they both wanted to. That was the rule – or at least the custom. A soulmate bond wasn't solidified until the people involved made skin to skin contact with one another. And it wasn't considered right to do that unless both wanted it.

_What if … they don't want to?_ But they'd come here. They'd saved him. They stared like he stared.

The other's hand twitched towards him as well. They swallowed, a small brief terrified smile flickering over their features. "I'm Yubel."

"I'm Juudai." Juudai wished that he could offer his hand like he'd been taught. He tilted his head instead. "Are you all right? You didn't get hurt, did you?" He glanced to where some of the palace guards had appeared, taking the intruder into custody. He could see better now, and the one who'd tried to attack him bore the marks of Yubel's displeasure.

Yubel shook their head. Juudai wasn't sure of why he didn't want to think of them as 'he' or 'she', only an awareness that was what they would have wanted.

"I'm fine, really. What about you? You're not hurt." Yubel stepped closer before freezing in their tracks, hands pulled closer to them.

"No. You got here in time." Juudai smiled, warmth flooding through him. "I didn't think this was how I would meet you, though."

Yubel's cheeks tinged red for a few seconds. "I didn't either. I mean, I didn't think that I would meet you like this. Maybe not at all. I mean..." They wrapped one hand around their left arm, where the marker still shimmered zero, and ducked their head. "I'm sorry."

"That's all right!" Juudai had to yank his hand back to prevent himself from reaching toward them. He'd never been so glad to see his parents arriving, both simmering with rage. "Mother! Father!"

"Juudai!" King Aodh enfolded Juudai into his arms a heartbeat or two before Queen Kaien did the honors as well. "Are you all right?"

"Sure. Thanks to Yubel." He gestured over to his soulmate, who raised one hand in a tiny wave, their smile a bit strained. "They're my soulmate."

Aodh and Kaien both gave Yubel measuring looks before Kaien spoke. "A pleasure to meet you, Knight Yubel. I don't recall seeing you on the guest list, though?" Only curiosity tinged her words at the moment.

Yubel shrugged. "I only got into town today. I knew my counter was running out and I heard about your Soulmate Party, so I thought I would get lucky."

"And so you did." Aodh chuckled briefly. "But we have someone else to thank as well. One of the harpists we hired for the event recognized that we had intruders." He gestured behind himself and Yubel's eyes widened as a woman moved closer.

"Claret! Are you all right?" Yubel moved closer to the strange woman, freely reaching out to her. One of the guards – Juudai thought his name was Burgundy – stood beside the harpist in a protective stance.

"Yes, I'm fine." Her gaze flickered over to Burgundy for a few moments before darting back to Yubel and Juudai. "So it seems that you are as well."

Yubel's flush deepened. "I guess." Their eyes darted to Juudai and his parents. "I didn't expect this."

Kaien cleared her throat. "Regardless, you're part of the family now. Did you two wish to confirm your bond now or wait for a later date?"

Juudai and Yubel's eyes met once again. Juudai tried very hard not to get lost in them and didn't think he did that very well. He swallowed again and jerked his gaze away.

"Uh… yes?" He had no idea of what sort of answer he gave with that. Yubel's lips twitched for a fraction of a second.

"I think we should get to know each other a little bit first. Maybe a few days, at least?" Soulmates needed the same time as anyone else to really get to know each other. Just because the Gods or the Darkness or whatever it was designated certain people to be with other people didn't mean they would get along all the time, or that there wouldn't be problems to overcome.

Sometimes there were even more problems than the non-soulmate types of pairings. At least that was what Juudai had heard.

But his parents both nodded at that. "We've kept a room near to Juudai's ready for his soulmate. Do you have any possessions to put there?"

"A few. I've been traveling light." Yubel sent a darting glance towards the queen that somehow diverted itself towards Juudai. "It's been a long trip."

Aodh nodded his agreement. "Then we'll make sure that you can rest." He turned his own penetrating gaze onto Yubel. "And eat. I don't think you had time to before everything started to happen tonight."

Yubel's stomach didn't rumble, but from the way they ducked their head down and refused to meet anyone else's eyes, Juudai wouldn't have been surprised if it did.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Yubel murmured. Juudai wished more than ever that he dared to take their hand. Every instinct in him screamed to do it but it wasn't _right_. Not in the slightest. He'd learned enough manners to know that.

King and queen both turned away, with Kaien dropping another look onto Claret. "You're welcome to stay overnight if you like as well. Your timely warning and the fact you brought Yubel to the palace tonight will be rewarded."

Claret ducked her head as well. "It was my pleasure, Majesty." Her eyes darted up to the guardsman Burgundy as he loomed high over her. "More than my pleasure."

As she raised her left hand to rest on Burgundy's, Juudai spied a shimmering mark, a harp and sword touching one another, intertwined by a chain of rich violet: the mark of lovers. He blinked; he hadn't even known Burgundy had a soulmate. Truth to tell, he'd been so involved in worrying about meeting his, he hadn't thought about anyone else's.

Well, it was a good thing he did, since that ended up bringing Yubel to him. They would have met somehow – that was what being soulmates was all about – but Claret's presence just made it that much easier.

Juudai followed his parents out of the ballroom, which was slowly being cleared, and through the corridors until they reached the royal suite. He stopped outside of his room and looked back at Yubel.

"Your room is there." He tilted his head towards the doorway across the hall. "If there's anything that you need, let us know?"

Yubel looked as if there were something on their mind, but they didn't say it. Juudai wondered if they would need clothes or to go get their clothes or something. What they had on didn't quite look like theirs.

It looked good on them, but not quite _theirs_. Juudai looked forward to helping Yubel fit in around there. The more trey got to know each other, the better.

Yubel only smiled, an expression that looked far more tired now than anything else. "Thank you, Your Highness."

Juudai tried to glower. He would have done better at it if he wasn't as tired as he was. After hours of meeting people who weren't Yubel and then actually meeting Yubel, he wanted to get some deep sleep, and as much of it as he could manage. Then food, reak, solid, delicious food instead of the little bites laid out at the party. If he could decide what he wanted, he would already make the request for it. At the moment, he just wanted _food_.

His stomach rumbled to the point he almost forgot what he wanted to tell Yubel. Oh, that was it. Right.

"Call me Juudai. We are soulmates, you know!"

* * *

**To Be Continued**

**Notes:** Did you ever think I _wouldn't_ write a soulmate fic for Yubel and Juudai? I have another thought in mind for Yubel, Juudai, and Johan, but this series is just for them. It will be a series that features Juudai and Yubel in many universes with soulmate marks of varying kinds, and stories within those universes. So, other stories here will feature them in other points in this timeline, or other worlds altogether. Whatever my imagination comes up with.


	2. Chapter 2

**Series:** Fate's Heart||**Story:** Embrace of Fate  
**Characters:** Juudai, Yubel, Ocs||**Ship:** Yubel x Juudai  
**Chapter:** 2-6||**Chapter Words:** 4,125||**Total Words:** 8,177  
**Genre:** Romance||**Rated:** G  
**Challenges:** Diversity Writing: YGO Soulmate Aus: L19, 5+ fics; First Kiss Challenge: Yubel x Juudai; One Ship Boot Camp, #08, blissfully; Chapter Set Boot Camp, GX claim, #42, 6 chapters; Include The Word Boot Camp, YGO claim, #50, sable  
**Notes:** So, second chapter. And this one is the first chapter I wrote on my new laptop! Whee!

* * *

Yubel stared at the door. Like all those in the palace that they'd seen so far, this one was well-made and sturdy. If there was any noise outside, they couldn't hear it very well. That would make sleeping a bit strange – after all their years of travel, Yubel found they were more acclimated to the sounds of nature or those that could be heard in a wayside inn than to absolute silence.

But they would get used to that. Yubel steeled their spine and turned around to view the room.

_This is in the royal palace. It's going to be beautiful._ They expected that. Kuragari held a reputation all over the known world for how magnificent the architecture was, one almost as strong and well-known as their famous grapes and the wine made from them, or the fact that His Highness the Prince held the power of the Gentle Darkness.

What they saw when they finished turning put every mental image that they'd formed of this place to shame – not that they'd had many since Yubel hadn't ever thought they would stay in the palace to begin with. But here they were and here they would stay because of all the people in all the world, _they_ were the Prince's soulmate and he was theirs.

Yubel still couldn't totally wrap their head around that. It seemed like something out of a fairy tale, and Yubel tried to convince themselves for years that fairy tales were just that and not the sort of tales that came true.

Slowly they took a step forward, eyes moving from piece to piece and sight to sight. On all four walls hung at least one tapestry and one painting, each one being of some beautiful natural scene. On the floor spread out a thick rug, shaded in dark cream shades of white. Opposite from the wall with the door in it stood a wall with a wide window, that still had room for the painting – this one of a sunrise over a mountain – and a tapestry – this one depicting the ocean and the shore. What shore it was Yubel didn't know, but it was beautiful regardless, a shining expanse of cerulean and sapphire.

In all their travels, Yubel hadn't ever seen a bed as big as this one. Up to three people could have slept in it, with possibly room for four if all four were very close to each other. A touch revealed the sheets to be of finely made satin in shades of deep green jade, and the mattress and pillows were so soft that Yubel wondered if they'd somehow conjured a cloud in there.

On the table next to the bed they found a silver-backed mirror, matched by a silver hairbrush and comb, along with other odds and ends that could be used to tidy one up. A little searching revealed a wardrobe full of magnificent outfits of every type – not just the exquisite gowns one might expect from a room set aside for a prince's soulmate, but sturdy doublets, tunics, trousers, and boots, which Yubel would far prefer to anything else if they had any choice in the matter.

There were chairs there as well, quite well cushioned, and Yubel sank slowly into one, still trying to understand all of this and not having a great deal of success.

_It's real._ They slowly stared at the mark on their arm: a row of numerals all reading zero. The time had run out; Yubel and the prince – Juudai – had met one another. The numbers would stay like this until they touched one another, at which point they would become whatever the bond-mark between them would be.

Slowly Yubel traced the numbers with one finger, before tugging their sleeve back down over it. They would talk with Juudai about that soon. They had to – they were soulmates and Yubel came all this way to find their soulmate, they weren't going to just run off into the night and never see him again.

Besides, Yubel thought, they didn't know him very well yet. They'd heard stories about soulmates whose souls fit together flawlessly and yet whose personalities grated like two knives against one another. Sometimes such combinations stuck it together to work it out and other times they could not bear to be around one another.

_I've talked to him for less than five minutes. I'm not going to leave just yet._ Despite how plush and strange and comfortable and odd all of this was, Yubel refused to give up. They'd been committed to finding their other half for all these years. Nothing had changed except for knowing what he looked like and his name and that he was the prince of a major kingdom and the incarnate force of life itself.

And when Yubel considered that, nothing of it mattered at all, not compared to the fact that Juudai fit into them in all the ways they'd never thought anyone ever would, and Yubel wasn't certain how to feel about that at all. No one had ever told them that being soulmates meant the other person completed you when you hadn't even known you were incomplete to start with.

Words of their mother and father returned to them: to try their best, to learn to know their soulmate, to treat them like a person and be treated like one in return.

Being soulmates didn't by any means force the bonded folk to stay together. If Yubel chose to walk away or if the Prince did, then while people would ask questions, they could still do it. Nothing and no one could stop them. Though the thought of what those warm brown eyes, so clearly thrilled at the sight of Yubel, might look like if they chose to leave cut into Yubel's heart so very deeply.

Yubel pressed their lips together before nodding to themself. It would require time, effort, and everything else that a relationship that wasn't between soulmates required. But they would see this through to the end, no matter what the end turned out to be.

* * *

Juudai leaned back in his chair, admiring the empty plates in front of him. He wasn't certain of how many he'd cleared, only that there were a lot of them, and everything on there had been delicious.

_I hope Yubel ate._ Had anyone told Yubel that they could ask for whatever they wanted to eat? He would have to check on that.

Later, though. When he wasn't so tired that he wanted to just close his eyes and go to sleep where he was. That sounded pretty good, he had to admit, though the idea of laying down was equally appealing. He just wasn't sure if he actually wanted to move.

"Juudai?"

He raised his head up a little to see his mother peering at him from the door. She nodded towards him in greeting before moving over.

"I wanted to make certain that you're doing all right." Queen Kaien's gaze dropped down to his arm where the counter rested at zero. "Have you thought about what's going to happen?"

Juudai blinked, tilting his head. "I'm going to go to sleep? I guess Yubel is too – could you make sure they have something to eat? I didn't think about that before."

"Of course. But that's not what I meant." Kaien moved over to sit in the chair nearest to him. "When are you going to solidify your bond?"

Juudai blinked again, then shrugged. They'd brought that up before, but his mother more than once asked him the same question after he'd had a little time to think about it. Besides, now that he'd eaten, he _could_ think about it. "I guess whenever Yubel wants to. They're still new around here. And we do have to get to know each other, remember?"

From the first moment he'd realized this was his soulmate, Juudai wanted nothing more than to take Yubel's hand, to hold them and never let them go. Only he knew how rude that would be and his parents raised him to at least somewhat think about other people.

That didn't mean that he didn't want to do it. He just wanted Yubel to want it as much as he did.

Kaien nodded. "You're right, of course. But what about your announcement ceremony?"

Juudai groaned, slumping down into his chair and grumbling under his breath. "Do I _have_ to?"

"Yes, you do." Kaien turned a very stern look on him. Juudai called this one Stern Look Number Seven, This Is A Necessary Thing. His parents had a lot of stern looks that he'd seen over the years. At least he didn't get this one all that often. "You don't want anyone else turning up trying to make false claims, do you?"

That sent a shudder all through him. Enough that he'd had to deal with the Soulmate Party to start with. He didn't want even more people pestering him now that he'd found Yubel. And he really, _really_ didn't want people trying to bother him _about_ Yubel.

"I'll talk to Yubel about it," he said at last, grumbling. "We'll figure it out and let you know."

Sometimes Juudai really wished that he wasn't a prince. There were all those _rules_ about what he could and couldn't do and people had to know things about him that he wasn't all that sure that he wanted them to know. If he'd been an ordinary person then no one would care if he'd found his soulmate or not. But since he was Prince of Kuragari…

Kaien nodded approvingly. She glanced at the pile of dishes with a hint of amusement across her lips. "I see you've had a good dinner."

"I was hungry!" Juudai defended himself. "I didn't eat anything at the party."

How could he have when so many people stared at him and stared at their arms, so eager for that moment when their counters would turn to zero?

"I noticed." Kaien's lips curved upward for a few seconds. "I'll check on Yubel. You go get some rest."

He nodded. He stretched a little, yawning and closing his eyes. The idea of moving wasn't all that great right now. Then his mother's hand touched him.

"Get in your bed, Juudai. You don't want to sleep in your chair."

"I don't?" Juudai dragged his eyes open and wished almost at once that he hadn't. Getting up would be so exhausting! But he shoved himself to his feet regardless. His mother told him to and he wasn't going to _not_ listen to her.

"No, you don't." Kaien nudged him a bit closer to the bed and Juudai fell in, pulling the blankets up over himself. Part of him wanted to remain awake, to bounce back up and go see Yubel, introduce them to the customs of the palace and show them around.

Instead, he closed his eyes and absolute exhaustion wrapped it self all around him.

* * *

Kaien watched for the few moments it took for Juudai's breathing to even out and deep sleep to enfold him. She tucked the blankets in around him, staring for a few seconds at the series of zeroes on Juudai's arm.

_How long will it take?_ She wanted matters all settled; she knew that they would be in time. But Juudai took things at his own pace. He always had.

She glanced at her own wrist; the mark she shared with her husband shone back at her. His shield and her sword, together as they'd been since the first moment that they'd met.

_We touched within moments. I knew. I always knew, even before we met each other._

She wanted Juudai to know that kind of happiness. She knew that he would. He'd met Yubel. But until that bond flared into full life it wouldn't be quite the same.

Carefully Kaien stepped out of the room, closing the door behind herself. She crossed the hallway and tapped on the door over there. The door opened after a few moments and Yubel peered carefully out of the opening.

They blinked as it dawned on them who stood out there, then the door opened all the way and Yubel bowed low and respectfully. It wasn't the style Kurgarian knights bowed in, but Kaien wasn't going to complain.

"Your Majesty," Yubel murmured, eyes cast down. "What can I do for you?"

"To begin with, may I come in? We have a few matters to discuss before it gets much later."

Yubel nodded quickly, stepping back and closing the door once Kaien entered. Kaien glanced around; they'd kept the room as neutral as they could while they waited for whoever Juudai's soulmate would be appeared. It would get more personal the longer than Yubel lived there.

"How long have you been waiting?" Kaien asked, taking one of the chairs. Yubel glanced at her, still drawn up a breath away from attention. "And you can relax."

Yubel's tension edged just the faintest bit. Kaien decided this would get better as they got to know each other. For all intents and purposes, she was Yubel's mother in law, regardless of any official bindings or the lack thereof.

"I started this way a few years ago. I didn't know I'd be coming here, though." Yubel fidgeted, worrying at their lower lip. Before they could say anything else, their stomach rumbled, as loud and clear as Kaien had ever heard Juudai's.

She smiled at that. It wasn't difficult to already see ways the two of them would fit together.

"I'll have food brought. Is there anything in particular that you'd like? Kuragari deals in quite a bit of seafood."

Yubel slowly shook their head. "Whatever you like, your Majesty. I'm not picky."

Kaien observed them for a few moments before nodding. "Yes, you wouldn't be, would you?" Yubel traveled the world for years to find their soulmate, eating wherever and whatever they could. Kaien suspected once they'd left their homeland, food that Yubel was familiar with became far more difficult to get.

Yubel ducked their head even farther. Kaien made a note to find out just where Yubel came from and what sort of food it would be likely that Yubel would be used to.

But for now, she rose and stepped to the door, calling for a servant. One of the benefits of being Queen included being able to have one's orders carried out almost at once. Right now, that would be _very_ useful.

Waiting for that, she turned back to Yubel. "We're going to need to announce you and Juudai are soulmates. Preferably as soon as possible." Her lips quirked. "There are those who would attempt to claim that their particular chosen candidate is Juudai's 'true' soulmate, through whatever means they could use to make it seem plausible. But once the announcement is made and the bond sealed, that won't happen."

Yubel's eyes hardened, hands tensing into fists. "Is that why we – he – was attacked earlier? Someone trying to claim that he's their soulmate?"

_Oh, this is good._ Kaien kept her features as composed as she could manage.

"To a degree, we think. Those we captured refused to admit to anything." Kaien's lips turned downward. "It may take some time but we'll get what information that we can from them. But in truth, I suspect their true goal was to make certain that Juudai didn't live long enough to meet you – or that you didn't live long enough to meet him, if that failed."

Yubel tilted their head, confusion in every gesture. "How could they stop that?" Their hand rested on the cycled down counter. "I didn't think that was possible."

"It is, but it's not likely." Kaien chuckled. "Philosophers have studied soulmate marks and the intersection of fate and the timers for as long as I can remember. For as far back as history keeps count, in fact."

Yubel nodded, eyes lighting up a touch more at that. "It's the same where I came from. No one knows how it is, but everyone has an opinion about it."

"That they do. And _my_ opinion on this is that where you and Juudai are concerned, more than just your timers brought you together." Kaien had spoken to no one about this. Perhaps Yubel was the right person. "You know of _what_ Juudai is, I presume."

Yubel nodded. Kaien continued. "We know little of how sentient the Gentle Darkness is when it's not in human form, but we do know that it does things. It sent us Juudai, for one thing. But I've considered that the Darkness sent you as well – the one to love him. His soulmate."

For a few moments Kaien thought Yubel stopped breathing altogether. Then they nodded, hands clenched harder and head held up high. "I wouldn't even need that counter to do that." A sort of strained laugh fell from their lips. "Though I don't know how I would have found him if I didn't have it."

Kaien chuckled, leaning back and running one hand through her hair. "Neither do I. But I don't think it matters. You did find him and he found you. We're going to announce it in a few days."

Yubel's gaze dropped down. "How long do we have to get to know each other?"

"As long as you need. Being announced doesn't mean that you have to change that. Though I'm certain that rumors will say you've already bonded to one another."

Before Kaien said another word, a knock came on the door. Yubel opened it to reveal one of the servants. Kaien recognized him; that wasn't a surprise, either. Only servants actually vetted for years were allowed to enter the royal section of the palace.

The moment the servant saw that she was there, he started to bow. Kaien gestured them to stop and set the food on the nearest table. Now wasn't the time for bowing. More than that, she wanted Yubel to get both food and sleep as soon as possible.

And she wanted to learn as much about Yubel as possible.

* * *

Juudai knocked hard at Yubel's door, trying so very hard not to squeal. He knew he shouldn't; it would be terribly rude to squeal at the door of one's soulmate. At least he thought it would be, so he didn't try.

But as soon as Yubel opened the door, blinking sleep out of their eyes, he grinned the biggest grin that he'd ever grinned in all of his life.

"Hey! Are you ready to go for a walk – uh, would you like to go for a walk? With me?" Juudai rubbed the back of his head. He wanted to be polite. He wanted to make a really good impression. He didn't think he was doing the best job of it, but he tried regardless.

Yubel stared at him for a few moments before they nodded. "I'd love to, Your Highness – Juudai."

Juudai hadn't ever thought of how his name sounded when his soulmate said it.

"Could you say that again? My name, I mean." He shifted, eyes dropping down and then raising back up to them. "Please? I like it when you say it."

Yubel said nothing for a few moments, then a smile broke across their lips. "Juudai."

Juudai shivered all over. "Thanks… uh, that walk? Please?"

"Just a moment. I need to put my shoes on." Yubel glanced at the rug-covered floor beneath them and their bare feet. "I like the rugs."

"Me too!" Juudai practically squealed at that, looking forward to moments when they could wiggle their toes together in the rugs, maybe by a warm fire. Juudai hadn't ever looked forward to winter so much in his life.

Yubel left the door open and Juudai peered in curiously to see if they'd made any changes yet. So far he didn't see anything, except for a single bag that he'd never seen before. The bag was worn out, with stitched places marking where holes had been, and a few worn spots that hadn't yet been mended. It hung over the back of the chair, and he thought it was about half empty.

Yubel tugged on a pair of boots that looked as battered as the bag itself, though not with any holes that he could see. They didn't look like the ones that he'd seen them wearing the night before, which were set over by the flickering fire.

Yubel also didn't wear the outfit that they had the night before, instead wearing a tunic and trousers, faded and patched, and Juudai thought it fit them so much better than the fancy outfit as well.

Together the two of them headed down the hallway. Juudai's hand twitched every now and then toward them, but he managed to keep from touching them. He wondered if he should get a pair of gloves; that would probably help make sure they didn't touch before Yubel wanted it.

But for now they stepped outside into the expansive royal gardens. Warm sunlight spilled all over them and Juudai managed not to twitch at the feeling. Light didn't bother him all that much but he still preferred the darkness.

Yubel's hand twitched closer to him. He caught sight of it out of the corner of his eye and smiled.

"You can have whatever you want here," Juudai told Yubel. "Clothes. Food. Anything you want for your room." He rubbed the back of his head. "What would you like?" He would give Yubel everything that he could. He couldn't even imagine something that he wouldn't give them.

"I wouldn't mind some new clothes," Yubel admitted. Juudai nodded; he would talk to his parents about it as soon as he could.

For right now what he really wanted to do was just walk with Yubel.

* * *

Aodh watched as Yubel and Juudai made their way through the gardens. He suspected they didn't see him or Kaien at all. The two of them sat across a marble table, sharing a light snack together, and discussing various small matters pertinent mainly to the two of them.

The two of them and their son, in all truth. And his new soulmate.

"What do you think of them?" Aodh asked, eyes tracking the two, who remained so close to one another and yet who didn't touch, regardless of how much they clearly both wanted to.

Kaien sipped a hot cup of tea. "I think that Yubel is exactly what Juudai needs. Someone even fiercer in his defense than the most skilled or loyal bodyguard that we could ever hire."

Aodh nodded. He'd suspected as much from the moment he'd seen Yubel's attack on those who tried to hurt Juudai the previous night. He wouldn't have been surprised in the slightest if Yubel managed to claw their throats out.

He also wouldn't have cared if they had. Juudai needed someone like that to protect him until he'd matured, in every way that he needed to.

_Should I ask them?_ He'd barely been properly introduced to Yubel at all. What he knew was that they were his son's soulmate and how fierce they were. Yubel would be suitable; he didn't doubt that at all. But would it be fair? Would it be _right_ to ask them this?

Kaien's hand rested on his and he looked toward her. She knew what would be going through his mind. She knew what he worried about as intimately as he did. They'd never uttered a word of it towards Juudai or anyone else. How could they?

"Give them time," Kaien said. "Let them bond, let them know each other. Let them have what time they can together before it all has to change, Aodh."

A smile tugged at his lips but he didn't really feel like smiling when it came down to it. "They'll likely have forever together. Different forms but the same heart – the same souls."

Kaien's gaze shifted to the barely visible forms parading through the garden paths. "I know. But there isn't any need to rush anything. Is there?"

Aodh sagged back into his chair, letting his weariness show as he so seldom did. "We can wait. But not forever. I've heard all manner of rumors and last night didn't make it any better. The Light is building an army, taking people from all over. Even a few of our own have shown the signs."

Kaien drew herself up. He would have to show her the reports; she was far better at strategy than he was. Juudai's power would be able to hold off the Light of Ruin's advance, but only if it were matched to the power that protected him. He had been born with a sword; now he would need his shield.

* * *

**To Be Continued**

**Notes:** Next chapter has their first kiss, Juudai's pledge of eternal love, and Yubel becoming a dragon. Not necessarily in that order.


	3. Chapter 3

**Series:** Fate's Heart||**Story:** Embrace of Fate  
**Characters:** Juudai, Yubel, Ocs||**Ship:** Yubel x Juudai  
**Chapter:** 3-6||**Chapter Words:** 4,036||**Total Words:** 12,213  
**Genre:** Romance||**Rated:** G  
**Challenges:** Diversity Writing: YGO Soulmate Aus: L19, 5+ fics; First Kiss Challenge: Yubel x Juudai; One Ship Boot Camp, #08, blissfully; Chapter Set Boot Camp, GX claim, #42, 6 chapters; Include The Word Boot Camp, YGO claim, #50, sable  
**Notes:** Chapter three and the last of the past life chapters, so you can guess what's going to happen.

* * *

Juudai's heart beat so much faster whenever he found himself near Yubel. After the last two weeks, he found himself near them whenever he could. They spent all day and most of the night together. He showed Yubel all of the places in the palace that he called his own, little nooks and crannies big enough for one, and some of them big enough for two.

They didn't stay in those. Those would require touching and neither of them wanted that, not just yet.

Juudai opened his eyes for a second or two, then closed them right away. He could hear the rumble of thunder and the patter of rain outside and that made him want to go right back to sleep.

What made him open his eyes all the way again was the sound of Yubel knocking at the door.

"Juudai? Are you awake?"

He wriggled his way out of bed and bounced to the door, shaking off sleep in favor of talking to Yubel. "Yup! Sounds bad out there, doesn't it?" He asked even as he opened the door, expecting Yubel to want to do something indoors now. For the last two weeks the weather had been brilliant and warm, enticing everyone to go outside and do things. Today would be different.

What he saw was Yubel wearing a rain-wrap, tightly tucked all the way around, along with the customary gloves that the two of them wore over those last two weeks. Yubel gave him an encouraging smile.

"Did you want to go for a walk?" Juudai asked, wanting to smack himself a few seconds later. Of course Yubel wanted to go for a walk! Yubel wouldn't be dressed like this if they didn't!

But walking in the rain? Juudai preferred staying indoors wrapped up in warm blankets and as far from the falling wet stuff as he could manage when it came to days like this.

"Where I'm from, it's like this a lot," Yubel pointed out, a pale red blush dusting across their cheeks. "This feels like home to me."

"Hold on. Let me put my clothes on." Juudai declared at once, darting back to head for his clothes. Yubel stepped inside as he did, waiting patiently. Juudai tossed around a few stray pieces of clothes, thoughts tumbling over as he did.

He loved Yubel. He'd never doubted that; he'd just not been aware of it until the last few days. But bit by bit the knowledge crept over him, as the two of them got to know one another better, and it slowly dawned on him with each day that he didn't _want_ to not wake up and not have Yubel there with him, somewhere, somehow.

He loved his soulmate. He couldn't wait to let Yubel know and the more he thought about it, the more that he wanted to tell them that, today. Right now.

"I love you."

It might have had slightly more impact if he hadn't been pulling clothes over his head at the moment that he spoke. Yubel turned toward him, expression frozen, and he wondered if they hadn't heard him. He tugged his clothes into place and took a few steps over.

"I love you, Yubel."

Maybe he should have waited for a different time? Maybe if they were staring soulfully into one another's eyes? Or even waited until after they'd made that first touch? All those moments when they'd come so very close to doing so but pulled themselves apart or the gloves touched and they didn't…

Juudai swallowed and stared at Yubel, who hadn't changed their expression at all. Maybe it wasn't the right time to say it but he had and he wasn't going to back down.

"Whenever you want to touch, I'm ready." He started to reach for his gloves, his eyes shifting away from Yubel. Where had he put them?

Yubel's hand came down on his arm. He looked toward them, eyes widening when he saw the look on their face.

"I love you, too," Yubel murmured. For a moment he saw something flick through their eyes, a thought he couldn't understand. Then what Yubel intended dawned on him.

He didn't have any intentions of avoiding it, but it still took him just a touch by surprise when Yubel leaned forward and pressed their lips against his.

A heartbeat, but no more, passed before he started to kiss back, his arms slipping around Yubel, whose arms enfolded him as well. He kept on kissing; what did he need air for? He only needed Yubel.

He didn't know when they finally stepped apart, but they had to have, eventually. Juudai's hands slid down to wrap around Yubel's wrists – and he hadn't yet put his gloves on. Yubel shifted only enough to remove their own, fingers tracing across his skin.

Then, almost at the same moment, they turned their wrists up and looked at them together.

There on their wrists, identical in every detail, there was emblazoned the mark of the Gentle Darkness, with a violet chain connecting it to the image of a wing. It wasn't a wing that Juudai had never seen before, but he thought it reminded him of Yubel regardless.

Slowly he traced the mark on Yubel's wrist with one finger. "It's beautiful," he murmured before he leaned over and kissed it softly. Yubel shivered, eyes closing for a few seconds before they adjusted and leaned over to return the kiss on Juudai's mark.

At the touch of Yubel's lips, Juudai caught his breath, slumping back a little, his legs shaking. He wanted to say something but there weren't any words that could be said. Everything that filled his mind involved Yubel and how good it felt to actually _touch_ and _be touched_.

Somewhere in there, he did think there were words. Yubel might have said them. They didn't seem all that important, though. They were about a walk. That was right. They'd been going to go for a walk. Only that wasn't nearly as important as just being here, in Yubel's arms, Yubel in his, all thought swept away and replaced by the sheer bliss of having finally sealed the soulmate bond.

* * *

"It's getting worse," Aodh murmured, staring at the reports. "A great deal faster than I thought it would."

Kaien settled the pile of papers back down on the table and leaned back, eyes closed and thoughtful. "I agree. We can wait for a while, but not as much as we thought we could."

The king nodded, little more than the briefest tilt of his head. He gestured towards another with a flick of one hand. "I've spoken to the alchemists and wizards. They can do the procedure. It'll take time and it can't be certain as of yet that anyone who endures it will survive."

"But if they do?"

Aodh let out a long, deep breath. It wasn't such a difficult question to answer, but to put it into words would make it all real in a different way than reading it did.

"If they do, then whoever undergoes it will be changed forever. Indestructible. No longer in need or food or water or sleep – they would draw energy from the Gentle Darkness itself. The bond that would be forged to Juudai would help with that." He traced a complex design with one finger on the table. "But I don't know what would happen to them between Juudai's lives. None of the ones that I spoke to had any idea."

Kaien nodded quietly. Aodh wished she would say something more. Exactly what she could say about it, he didn't know. But he saw the way her eyebrows drew together and the way her hands clenched ever so lightly.

"Do you still want to ask Yubel? There are others that we could choose."

She didn't want it. _He_ didn't want it. How could they do this to Yubel? Aside from that, how could they do this to Juudai? After just two weeks the two of them were so close to one another.

From the door came a knock and Juudai's voice sounded. "Mother? Father? Yubel and I want to tell you something!"

Aodh's heart plummeted at those words. Only one thing could have happened that they would want to talk about right now. His eyes met Kaien's over the table and she nodded faintly.

"Come in."

They couldn't see the door from where they sat but neither of them was even remotely surprised to see Juudai and Yubel enter with their hands wrapped firmly around one another without a hint of the gloves they'd worn in sight.

_They've touched. They've admitted it to themselves._

He'd seen this coming for two weeks. While soulmate bonds could take many forms, from the moment he'd really seen these two together, Aodh hadn't doubted at all that they would love one another. That made his decision so much harder.

Juudai and Yubel raised their intertwined hands, both smiling brilliantly. Then they extended their hands, showing the marks on their wrists.

The moment that Aodh saw the mark, he knew. Yubel would be the one that took on the mantle of Juudai's defender, the one who would protect him from everything until the end of time. As much as it hurt to even think about, he knew about the designs that the wizards and alchemists put forth for that defender. Said designs included wings.

Such as the wing that he saw on them now.

Even as he and Kaien congratulated them, in the very back of his mind he thought of how to ask Yubel about doing this. He didn't frown outwardly, but a second thought did occur to him.

_I won't ask them alone. I can't._ They were soulmates. What happened to one affected both of them. It would be the height of wrongness to ask Yubel without Juudai being aware of it.

And he couldn't do it now. Not when they both so happy at their bond being confirmed like this.

Even with the rain still pouring down outside, the two of them bounced off to have a walk together. Aodh let out the deepest of sighs several moments after they departed. Kaien reached over to wrap her hands around his wrist, offering the support to him that she always had.

He said nothing. Neither did she. There really wasn't that much that either of them needed to say. All of it revolved around what decisions Juudai and Yubel made.

* * *

Yubel listened to everything that King Aodh and Queen Kaien had to say. They read the papers that showed what the changes would be, and stared down at the mark on their wrist, the wing that showed as clear as if it had been tattooed there by an expert in the art.

_To defend Juudai, forever._ Such an idea hadn't ever occurred to them. It hadn't needed to. As far as Yubel was concerned, Juudai was the reason that they existed in the first place. Taking on a dragon's form – an enchanted hybrid of human, dragon, and demon in fact – would only enable them to do so far more effectively.

But Juudai exploded. "Why this? Why change Yubel like this?"

"Because you need a guardian," Aodh replied, his hands held together firmly. "We've received the reports for a long time now – before your Soulmate Party, in fact. The Light will, sooner or later, attack. That means we're going to need you to deal with it. The power of the Gentle Darkness is a sword. What you need is a shield, to protect you no matter what."

"And this process will make me a shield for him." Yubel wasn't asking it as a question. Aodh nodded.

Yubel turned to Juudai, fingers wrapping around his as they did. "I want this. I want to be able to protect you – I'm a knight, after all." Their lips turned upward for a few breaths. "We protect people. It's our job. And I will protect you."

"But you'd be a dragon, too," Juudai murmured, ducking his head. "Does that mean that you'd want a hoard of gold and lock me up in a tower somewhere?"

Yubel's laugh sounded, a touch strained but there regardless. "Would you want me to?"

"It might get a little lonely without anyone else there. But I'd still have you, wouldn't I?"

"Always."

Juudai held Yubel's hands closer to him, staring into their eyes. "You don't have to. We can pick someone else for this."

"But I _want_ to. I could never let anyone else do this for you." Yubel's hand cupped against his cheek. "Please let me do this, Juudai."

Juudai leaned his head against Yubel's hand. Ever since they'd first touched, they'd done so more and more. Hands, fingers, lips, any sort of touching that they could do, they did.

Aodh could not stop himself from wondering what it would be like for them after the transformation. He didn't think they would stop – he didn't want them to. But what would it be like for them?

"If that's what you want," Juudai murmured at last. "But I want to be there with you when they do it. All the way."

Aodh's first instinct was to deny this. Before he could speak, Kaien interrupted.

"This won't be a pleasant procedure. It won't involve the wizards simply casting spells. Yubel will _hurt_ because of this – there will be pain perhaps beyond the ability of words to describe. Yubel's body will be twisted and changed and be unrecognizable from what it is now."

Juudai's eyes narrowed. "I'd never not recognize Yubel." He touched the soulmate mark on his wrist. "This will still be there."

"We can't promise that," Aodh spoke quietly. "But do you understand? This is not going to be pleasant, for Yubel or for you."

"_I don't care_." Juudai snapped, eyes flashing bright and furious, with tiny sparks of gold shimmering in their depths. "If Yubel does this for me, the least that I can do is be there for them."

Yubel squeezed Juudai's hand, bringing his attention back to them. "If that's what _you_ want."

Juudai nodded, not a shred of reluctance visible as he turned back to his father. "When is this going to be done?"

"The procedure itself won't be until the night of the dark of the moon. But that morning, the alchemists and wizards will need to begin work on Yubel. So it will begin the morning of the day after tomorrow."

Their hands remained wrapped around one another. Yubel leaned over to touch their lips against Juudai's cheek and Juudai leaned against them, trembling and trying so very hard not to show it.

Juudai wanted to scream. He wanted to rail about how this wasn't fair and it wasn't right. Surely they could give Yubel the power to defend him without hurting Yubel!

And it did hurt. He could tell that from the first moments the ritual began, when the apprentice wizard offered Yubel a silver cup filled to the brim with a steaming liquid, grass-green, giving off a revolting aroma that made Juudai wonder if they were just trying to poison Yubel.

But Yubel drank it down regardless, face twisting at the taste. Juudai wanted to hold their hand throughout this, but as soon as Yubel downed the mixture, more apprentices descended on them and began to massage oils and creams into Yubel's skin.

"Please, Your Highness," one of the other apprentices, who wasn't working on Yubel, came up to him and spoke. "Would you come this way?" A moment of hesitance. "I assure you that you can still watch what's going on, but we have to make sure that you won't be harmed. The procedures are extremely difficult and dangerous."

When Juudai didn't move right away, the apprentice fidgeted a trifle more. "Highness, please. You being here won't help any of this."

Juudai's gaze flicked over to Yubel, who raised their head to look back at him. They offered a small smile, but said nothing else, adding a small nod to it.

_I wish..._ Juudai reluctantly allowed himself to be taken to a small area a brief distance away from the procedures. The apprentice dusted a circle of fine silver dust all around him, then followed the line of the circle with the tip of a wand, chanting words Juudai couldn't hear very clearly, despite how close the apprentice was. When they backed off, Juudai pressed one hand to the air around him, finding it solid and impassable.

"Yubel!" Juudai called out, hoping they could at least talk. But Yubel didn't move or react, paying full attention to what the alchemists did.

The apprentice tapped on the solid air, drawing Juudai's attention. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. Sound goes in this barrier but it doesn't go out. Knight Yubel can't hear you now. It's better this way."

If Juudai had full access to his powers at that moment, he would have shattered everything in sight. As it was, he slammed his fists against the invisible curve of the barrier and stared at Yubel, wishing that he could get out and do something. He didn't care if this were for the best. The longer this went on, the more he could hear the pain in Yubel's voice.

Yubel tried, though. Juudai winced at the way their breath caught, tried not to look what came from the alchemists and wizards did with knives and wands and oils and treatments of all kinds. He didn't have words for most of what he saw, only that it would feature in his nightmares for years to come.

Juudai slumped back against the barrier, one hand covering his soulmate mark, staring at what unfolded, refusing to take his eyes off for a single moment. He'd made a promise. He wouldn't let Yubel go through this without him.

Yubel screamed. Their back arched upward and those who worked on them pushed them back down. Juudai banged on the barrier ceaselessly, screaming Yubel's name and not caring when no one so much as turned in his direction.

"Yubel..." Juudai whispered, leaning forward, tears streaking down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry." This was all his fault. If he weren't the Herald of the Gentle Darkness, then Yubel wouldn't have to suffer like this. They could be a normal pair of people.

_I'll make this up to you, Yubel. I swear. No matter what, I'll figure something out._

Hours stretched on. The work continued. Parts of Yubel were transformed that he'd never even thought could or would be. At the end he couldn't even see Yubel for all the bandages that wrapped around them.

At last the chief alchemist and chief wizard both came towards him. The alchemist pulled her hood back as she came closer. Juudai noticed the dark circles under her eyes and the slump to her shoulders. He couldn't keep his eyes off of Yubel, wrapped from head to foot in bandages that he'd seen had been treated in mixtures he didn't understand.

"The procedure is a success," the alchemist reported. "Yubel's in a state of flux at the moment. Their body is transforming and adjusting to the new capabilities that we infused into them. They can't have the bandages removed for a day and a night and it will likely be some time after that – perhaps another day – before they wake up."

The wizard added his contribution. "After that, it will take more time for Yubel to be able to walk properly, and to achieve mastery of their abilities. They will need your help, Highness. You and Yubel were already bonded due to being soulmates. That enabled us to do far more than we originally thought, and some of what we thought we would have to do we didn't."

Juudai rubbed the back of his forehead, eyes shifting over to Yubel before going back to them. "What does all of that mean?"

"It means you and Yubel will be together regardless of lifetime. While you will rest between lifetimes, Yubel will wait for you to be reborn." The wizard told him. Juudai wasn't all that certain about that 'wait'. But right now, just Yubel being there remained too important.

"Yubel will remain here until the bandages are removed and possibly until they can walk again. We'll release you from the barrier now and you can get some rest. You should eat something too. You've been in here since yesterday."

Juudai shrugged. That didn't matter. Yubel mattered. His stomach did gurgle at the thought of food but that was it.

The wizard gestured and the barrier vanished. Juudai took a step forward, legs suddenly wobbly, and would have pitched forward onto the floor if the wizard and alchemist both hadn't caught him.

"Food, Highness. Then you rest." The wizard admonished him.

The alchemist nodded. "We can set up a cot in here so you can rest with Yubel. And I can have someone bring you dinner as well."

That sounded good. He nodded, stumbling toward the nearest chair that he saw and dropping himself down into it. He could see the other wizards and alchemists moving around but he didn't know what they were doing, nor did he care.

He cared about the fact the chair was next to Yubel.

* * *

Yubel brushed their fingers over the soulmate mark still clearly visible on their arm. It was virtually the only part of their previous form that they could still identify. But the longer they spent time in this new form – so much larger, so much stronger – the more that they accepted it.

This was what they'd been meant for, as much as they were meant to be Juudai's soulmate. They felt that with every breath that they took.

Juudai leaned in closer. Once Yubel awoke from the transformation and started on the long and painful path to learning how to use their new body, they'd scarcely been a more than a few steps away from one another. On those occasions when Yubel stumbled and fell, Juudai caught them, supporting them until they stood again.

Learning how to use their wings for balance helped as well. Yubel looked forward to the moment when they would be strong enough to fly, carrying Juudai in their arms. What a wonderful moment that would be!

Yubel slid an arm around him, supporting him as he did them so very much. He looked up at them, tear tracks down his cheeks. Yubel brushed them aside.

"This is my duty, Juudai," they murmured, leaning their head down to touch against his. "You need me like this."

"So? It hurt you."

That made Yubel laugh. They hadn't planned to but it pealed out regardless. "That's all right," they reassured Juudai. "Haven't you heard that love is pain? And if it's your love, that doesn't matter to me at all."

Juudai tried to shake his head but Yubel knew better. It had always been said, where they came from, that love could not exist without pain – even the lovve of soulmates. If the pain of that transformation was what was necessary to experience true love, to remain with Juudai forever no matter what else happened, then Yubel would gladly experience it a thousand times over.

"They said that you'd have to wait for me to be reborn when I reincarnate," Juudai whispered. "I'll try to make it fast. So you don't have to wait long. I don't want you to be alone, Yubel. I'll never let you be alone."

Yubel caressed Juudai's hair and placed a kiss on his forehead. "How can I be alone when I have you, Juudai? We're soulmates. I'll always find you, no matter what it takes. And I know you'll be there for me."

As sure as the sun rose and the moon swelled and faded, Yubel knew that Juudai would find them and they would find him. They didn't know how their mark would be affected – one soulmate with the same body while the other was reborn wasn't exactly a common phenomenon – but Yubel looked forward to finding out. Even with the threat of the Light looming, Yubel could only anticipate with joy what the future would bring for them and for Juudai.

* * *

**To Be Continued**

**Notes:** So, next time, modern day!Juudai! And no longer sane Yubel.


	4. Chapter 4

**Series:** Fate's Heart||**Story:** Embrace of Fate  
**Characters:** Juudai, Yubel, Ocs||**Ship:** Yubel x Juudai  
**Chapter:** 4-6||**Chapter Words:** 4,056**Total Words:** 16,269  
**Genre:** Romance||**Rated:** G  
**Challenges:** Diversity Writing: YGO Soulmate Aus: L19, 5+ fics; First Kiss Challenge: Yubel x Juudai; One Ship Boot Camp, #08, blissfully; Chapter Set Boot Camp, GX claim, #42, 6 chapters; Include The Word Boot Camp, YGO claim, #50, sable  
**Notes:** Modern day! We start in Juudai's first year at DA. Chapter five will be second year and chapter six third year.

* * *

"Aniki?" Shou asked the question that so few people did. Mostly because most people never saw the mark and thus didn't think to ask. "Is that your..."

Juudai tugged his shirt down and pulled his jacket on. "Yeah." He tried not to be short with Shou; Shou didn't know and it wasn't like he would be mad about it.

"C-could I ask..." Shou fidgeted, toweling his hair dry at the same time. "If you don't want to tell me, that's okay, you know."

Juudai started for the door, knowing how tense his shoulders were and hating every second of it. This was why he did all he could not to let anyone else see his mark. He hated having to answer this. But Shou was his best friend – the only best friend he remembered ever having.

"I don't know." The three words that he hated the most, more than answering any question in class. Especially because there hadn't ever been a question in class he couldn't answer in the first place.

But when it came to his soulmate mark, that was a different story altogether.

Shou stared at him for a few moments before he hurried to catch him. "You don't know?"

"No." Juudai held back a sigh. Might as well get it over with. Then Shou wouldn't ask anymore. "I've had it for as long as I can remember, but I don't know who they are. I don't remember meeting them. Mom and Dad won't tell me anything about it."

He pressed his lips together a little more. "I was really sick when I was about six or seven. They told me I almost died. And we moved right after I got out of the hospital – or right before, I'm not sure anymore." Juudai shook his head. "So I guess it was before I got sick, but I don't _remember_ anything from before then."

"Whoa..." Shou stared, gray eyes large and shocked. "You almost died?"

"That's what they tell me." Juudai shrugged. He didn't think about it all that often. There wasn't much of a need. "I guess I'll find them one of these days?"

"You could ask one of those agencies?" Shou suggested with a small laugh. "You know, those soulmate finding ones?"

Juudai nodded. He'd thought about that before too, before he'd come here. It didn't really seem like that much of an issue. He'd meet whoever it was again eventually, he knew, and he'd that he'd know them when he did. The mark made that extraordinarily plain.

He didn't need to see it to know what it looked like. He didn't know what it _was_, other than his soulmate mark. Part of it – the part he thought represented him – looked like a sigil of some kind and he wanted to say that it meant something like 'darkness'. It looked like darkness anyway, black as sable fur.

The other part of it resembled a dragon's wing. Or maybe a demon's wing. He'd never been able to pin it down and sometimes he spent his rare sleepless nights wondering.

A violet chain wound around both marks, with tiny little thorns poking up all around them in a circle around the chain. Juudai hadn't ever seen anything like that before; it had only started to appear in the last couple of years, before he'd started at Duel Academia.

_Are you all right out there?_ Juudai mentally traced the mark and wondered if he'd ever see them again. He wanted to; he would always believe they were out there somewhere. They had to be: his mark still existed. Only if his soulmate – wasn't there anymore – would it change, fade away.

He hoped that they were all right. He hoped that he'd find out soon.

Shou patted his own left arm where his counter continued to wind down. He'd shown it to Juudai shortly after they'd moved into the Red dorm. He still had a few years to go for his; he wouldn't meet his soulmate until a couple of years after graduation.

"Do you think mine could be Black Magician Girl?" he asked, and Juudai couldn't have been happier to have the topic steer away from his own.

"I don't see why not. Dunno how you're going to meet her, though." He knew Duel Spirits existed – Hane Kuriboh trilled from just behind him – but how someone like Shou, who didn't have a partner, would meet one so they could be soulmates escaped him for right now.

Shou let out a long and deep sigh. "Me either. But I can keep dreaming, can't I?"

"Sure!" Juudai swatted Shou playfully before he picked up his pace. "Come on, first one back to the dorm wins!"

Shou started after him, shorter legs scrambling, but Juudai kept going with a teasing laugh, eager to get inside and get under the covers so he could get some sleep and either dream about the soulmate he couldn't remember, or dream about nothing at all.

He wasn't at all certain of which he wanted more.

* * *

Yubel clenched their fist, flexing, aware to some level that Juudai remained out there, alive and healthy and possibly planning more pain for them.

Oh, Yubel hoped so. They hoped so with all of their heart – even if they didn't have a heart right now. That was one of the pieces scattered to the winds, ground down to dust and shattered until there wasn't anything left than the faintest of scraps.

But Yubel loved Juudai all the more for this pain. What else could this be but his love? A challenge for Yubel to show how much they could return that love, for certain. Yubel planned. Yubel would return Juudai's love, as they always had.

So long since they'd seen him, touched him. Centuries in between lives, but that had never been a problem. They'd rested together in the enfolding shadows of the Gentle Darkness, each partaking of the other's essence, until the time came when Juudai had to return to the world of flesh.

When he did, Yubel returned to guard him, as they always and forever would. Though matters had changed to some degree since their days in Kuragari. Those who held the secrets of magic or alchemy, those who weren't human – those were now called 'Duel Spirits' or 'Duel Monsters' and lived in worlds of their own. They could interact with the world of humans only through the medium of cards.

Which meant that Yubel now was considered one of those, and few indeed could see them. Juudai counted among those, of course. That didn't surprise Yubel in the slightest. The two of them were, after all, bonded both through the Gentle Darkness and the soulmate bond. If Yubel appeared when Juudai was but a newborn, he would have been able to see them.

But he hadn't been a newborn; young and eager to see them again, even if he hadn't known who Yubel was at first.

The memory flooded, sharp and sweet and strong, like so much else that involved Juudai. Yubel rested in the card, curious to see how matters lay in this new place and time, wondering if Juudai had a counter and if so how much time did it have on it. Would it mark the moment when they rose out of their card or some later date?

All speculation ended moments later when Yubel felt ten chubby fingers touch on the card and at once rose from it, turning to see their beloved, as they'd never seen him before. In the flesh he'd always been a teenager or older; in the Gentle Darkness there wasn't any real essence beyond awareness. Age didn't exist there.

And now they saw him as a small child and the fierceness of love and the depth of protection swept all over Yubel as it had the first moment their counters ran out together.

Voices sounded, ones that they didn't recognize, speaking of the counter and how there wasn't anyone _there_.

But Yubel could see the counter and it had just struck zero. Yubel began to reach, then pulled back.

"Hello, Juudai," Yubel murmured. They wanted so much to touch him but the rules remained the same. Such a touch should be done only with both of them agreeing to it. With as young as Juudai was that could be years.

But Juudai smiled at Yubel, as bright and brilliant as the sun even with his darkness coiled inside of him. "Yubel!"

He knew Yubel. He would always know Yubel, no matter what happened. He didn't know their past life or anything else but he recognized Yubel and reached eagerly for their hand.

Yubel wasn't certain at first if this would count as a touch. Their essence wasn't what it had been before. But no sooner did one hand brush against another than Juudai's counter flashed for a heartbeat, replaced by the sigil of the Gentle Darkness and Yubel's own draconic/demonic wing, tied together by the chains of love.

Again those voices spoke and Yubel finally looked to see who they were. Two strangers, a man and a woman, stood there, watching Juudai, expressions worried. There wasn't any sign that they saw Yubel and Yubel dismissed them almost at once. Whoever they were, they weren't important save for whatever distinction they held for Juudai.

"Can't you see Yubel?" Juudai chirped, waving his newly marked arm. "They're right there!"

The people – his parents of this new life, Yubel surmised – made soothing noises but nothing more. Wariness tinged each word they spoke, along with the gazes they shot towards the space Yubel stood in. All that proved Yubel's existence at the moment was the mark on Juudai's arm.

That was all Yubel had ever needed to exist in the first place. Juudai remained the center of their existence.

"Let me tell you about dueling!" Juudai declared, racing to his room, card held tight in his hand. "You're going to love it!"

Juudai wasn't wrong. The game was fascinating and it didn't take Yubel long to learn the various rules. Apparently those updated every few years and one such had been released recently, mostly featuring Fusion monsters. Those held an especial fascination for Juudai.

Yubel understood why the moment that they saw the spell and what it could make – combining weaker creatures to become stronger ones remained one of the hallmarks of the Gentle Darkness. Fusion was Juudai's weapon and always had been.

But it took him time to learn how to use it properly and there weren't many patient enough for him to learn. Again and again Juudai dueled against those in his school and in his neighborhood – such a sad place for Haou of the Gentle Darkness to grow up – and he lost so many of those duels. There were occasionally times when he won and Yubel praised him so much for those moments, as they soothed him for the far more abundant losses.

"You won!" His opponent glared at him from across the playground. "You cheated, didn't you?" One beefy fist knotted up as he stalked across. "I know you cheated!"

Juudai stared at him, too thrilled at his win and too surprised to move. "No, I didn't. Why would I?"

"Because you don't win against me! You never have!" The opponent glared at Juudai for a few seconds before that huge fist flashed forward, burying itself in Juudai's stomach and sending him falling back.

Juudai cried out, reaching for the cards that scattered from his deck, even as the burly child kicked him hard, knocking him over.

"Cheater! Cheaters can't play Duel Monsters! I'm gonna tell everyone that you cheated!"

Before Juudai could say anything else, his former opponent stomped on the cards, grabbed a handful of the ones he hadn't stepped on, then ran off with those in his grip. Juudai stared after him, drawing in a huge, deep hitching breath, tears stinging in his eyes.

Yubel rested their left hand on the back of Juudai's neck. While they could touch, it still wasn't entirely the same as when both had bodies. But Juudai turned his attention toward them regardless.

"He stole my cards," Juudai whispered, tears streaking down his cheeks. "He said I cheated and he stole my cards."

Yubel stroked ever so gently, eyes following where the thief – that was all he needed to be known as now – vanished.

"Don't worry, Juudai. You'll see him in school tomorrow, won't you?" Juudai nodded, sniffling. Yubel smiled. "Then I'll take care of him them."

Juudai's smile broke through his tears and he started to quickly gather the other cards, squealing in joy whenever he saw a particular favorite of his survived. Once he had them all tucked back in, Yubel did what they could to brush him off. The brute's attack hadn't left much damage beyond some dust and bruising that Yubel would avenge in due course. If it had been worse than what it was, Yubel would have eagerly seen to it that he paid for it with his life.

Whether he knew it or not, Juudai remained Haou, the Supreme King, Herald of the Gentle Darkness. More importantly than all of those, he remained Yubel's soulmate, and there wasn't anything in all the worlds that Yubel wouldn't do to avenge the slight to him.

Including putting a seven year old in the hospital after he 'mysteriously' fell down a flight of stairs.

It was far easier than Yubel imagined to do so. In the year since they reunited, Yubel learned that they could affect the mortal realm to some degree, with effort. Whether this was a thing that all spirits could do or just them, Yubel didn't know. There weren't any other spirits in the school to ask, since so few here had the gift to see them.

Not all of those who had that ability knew of it in the first place. Yubel identified most of them by if such people could see them in the first place. Those whose eyes focused on Yubel, who stared in surprise at Juudai being followed by Yubel, those were the ones that Yubel marked and watched to see if any other spirits came near to them.

But Yubel knew what they could do, and when the moment came that the one who'd hurt their beloved Juudai stood at the top of the stairs, back turned, waving to someone else, they struck.

Juudai wasn't that far away, but the brute hadn't seen him. This brought Yubel close enough to take care of the issue. The brute may well have fallen even if Yubel hadn't done anything. Yubel only made certain it _did_ happen.

One single push was all that it took. The thief-brute toppled over, rolling down and down, soft cries that stopped after two or three hits. He lay at the bottom, trembling, and Yubel smiled at the sight.

Juudai still hadn't noticed. Yubel knew he became aware after the thief was taken away to the hospital. But Juudai didn't seem to care any more than Yubel did.

That was just the beginning. Yubel didn't care if the duel involved a win or a loss; as long as they treated Juudai decently, then they were allowed to go without being harmed. But whenever there was the slightest hint of disrespect towards their beloved Juudai, Yubel made certain that they paid for it.

No one who disrespected Juudai was spared. This included Juudai's best friend of the time – a boy who often took care of him when his parents were too busy with work to do so themselves. A boy named Osamu, who had the _audacity_ to prevent Yubel from being summoned.

Doing so wouldn't have necessarily won Juudai the duel, but it really didn't matter. Juudai knew that Yubel wanted to fight in the duel. Their presence would at least defend Juudai, what they were meant to do.

And when that was prevented, Yubel made certain this one was _punished_, right away and as fiercely as possible.

"Yubel!" Juudai stared at them as the ambulance took Osamu away. "Why did you hurt him?"

He knew that Yubel hurt people who upset him in any way. They didn't always need to have dueled him. A small group of muggers – wanna-be muggers – who'd worried Juudai while he and his mother walked home ended up terrified thanks to Yubel. But this was the first time that Yubel struck someone that he liked.

"Because he prevented me from coming to help you, Juudai. You know that." Yubel knew that they had to explain things to Juudai on occasion. "You should go and rest."

Juudai subsided, but Yubel caught sight of him watching them every now and then. He didn't say anything, but shortly thereafter, Yubel could see him drawing pictures, ones of those heroes he'd talked to them about on occasion. He drew more than he talked to them, which wasn't all that normal. Still, Yubel expected that once he got over being upset, he would talk to them again.

Perhaps that was why matters fell out the way that they did. Yubel presumed that Juudai would soon speak but there were few moments when he did. Instead of apologizing when he finished his artwork, or even hanging it on his walls, Juudai put it into an envelope and sent it away.

But at least he spoke after that. "I sent it to a contest! If I win, my heroes are going to be made into real cards and sent into space!"

Yubel tilted their head. "Why there?" They could think of far better ways to reward someone for winning a contest.

"Because according to President Kaiba, we need to teach the space aliens how to duel." Juudai said it without a trace of anything aside from raw belief. Yubel chuckled.

"You know, that's also where the Gentle Darkness is. It's everywhere, of course, but it could be found by humans there." Yubel ran their fingers through Juudai's hair. "Do you think your cards would find it?" A thought crossed their mind. "They could gain great power if they did. You are the Herald of the Darkness; since it fuels you and you created them, it's not impossible."

Juudai grinned cheerfully. "That would be awesome! Do you think I'll win?"

"I don't see why you wouldn't." Yubel couldn't have been happier to have Juudai speaking to them again.

Perhaps if they'd known what would happen in the future, matters might have been different. As it was, Yubel only cared to hear Juudai's voice again, and to know that he wasn't angry at them anymore. And why should he be? They'd done nothing wrong.

Juudai was merely a child now. He reacted like a child would. When he grew up, Yubel knew that he would accept what they'd done to all who harmed him as the right and proper reaction.

As the weeks slipped away, Yubel forgot about Juudai having sent the drawings to the contest. Only when another envelope arrived, celebrating his victory in the contest, did they remember, and even then, Yubel thought of little more than to be proud for his victory.

Until the day came when he removed Yubel's card from his deck and the last that Yubel heard of his voice for far too long was Juudai asking if 'this card' could be sent up into space along with the others.

Yubel screamed. Yubel raged. Yubel demanded to know why Juudai did this to them, when they'd done nothing wrong, defended him as they'd promised to do so long ago, what they'd been created and recreated to do.

And Juudai did not answer. From the moment he handed Yubel's card to the strange men, there wasn't a single moment when Yubel could hear him.

The soulmate bond remained, of course. Not even death could sever that. But try as Yubel might, if Juudai heard their screams or their demands or anything at all, he did nothing to respond.

And Yubel screamed louder when they soared into space, thrashing within the card and the container, claws scraping against the inside, wanting to return to the world, return to Juudai, to find out what they'd done wrong and make it right again.

Nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing but pain and fear and more pain and more fear and the laughing, mocking, far too amused claws of the Light of Ruin, digging deep into Yubel and whispering words that sank into the cracks made by all of this.

_He doesn't love you. He never loved you. The soulmate mark is a lie. Would he have done this to you if he did love you?_

"Yes!" Yubel screeched the word back, throwing it with every ounce of love that they could imagine. "Juudai loves me! I love Juudai!"

_Of course you do._ More mocking, words shaped like weapons meant to wound. _But think about it. He cared more for those heroes than he did for you. He made a whole deck of them to go with those Elemental Heroes. But did that deck have a place for you?_

Yubel didn't need to breath but their breath caught in their throat regardless. They didn't want to think that the Light was right – how could it be? It was the Light, the very antithesis of what Juudai stood against. It would do anything to destroy him.

But those words dug so deep into them, chipping tiny holes inside.

_There wasn't one, you know. He crafted a new deck that shows what he is as Haou but without you. He doesn't want you anymore. He threw you away. He threw you to where you'll never find him again._

If the Light had a form and Yubel could have, they would have dug their own claws so deep into it that the beating heart would have been torn out. They shook their head over and over. This couldn't be. They didn't want to think about Juudai like this.

"Juudai loves me," they murmured. "That's why he did this." Yubel wasn't sure of that, not at first. But the more that they considered it, the more it felt true. Juudai sent them here, into space, into the dark and the cold and the loneliness, because of that love.

Again and again the Light's words came to them, how Juudai wanted nothing to do with them anymore and never wanted to see them again. How he loved his Elemental Heroes and these Neo-Spacians and did not love them.

How he would love other people who weren't Yubel, regardless of the mark on their arms.

Yubel refused to believe. The Light spoke lies; that was all there was to it. But with each passing moment and each fresh wave of pain that came, Yubel wondered and finally Yubel made a decision.

"He's taken away everything that I had," Yubel murmured. "He took me away from him and sent me out here. This means that he loves me. He wouldn't hurt me if he didn't love me." That Yubel could never, ever forget or disbelieve. "So I'll show him how much that I love him. I'll hurt _him_ too."

It would take time. They needed a way to return to Earth and to find him again. But Yubel never doubted at all that they could do it. The power that wove them together would see to it that they were reunited.

_I'll see to it as well._ The Light murmured, words underlain with a mocking laugh. _Watch._

And Yubel could feel their small capsule turning, shifting from the empty patch of the universe soaked in the raw force of the Light back towards Earth itself.

The capsule wasn't all that had been soaked in the Light. Yubel could feel the power suffusing in them as well. It wasn't what was natural to them, but it hurt, and the pain felt so good that Yubel craved more of it. To be able to feel anything after so long made them want so much more.

One day soon, Yubel would be able to unleash all of their love onto Juudai once again. Anyone that he thought he cared about would be no more, and it would be the two of them, together as destiny demanded.

* * *

Far away, on Juudai's left arm, the first of the thorn markings appeared.

* * *

**To Be Continued**

**Notes:** I love Yubel so very much.


	5. Chapter 5

**Series:** Fate's Heart||**Story:** Embrace of Fate  
**Characters:** Juudai, Yubel, Ocs||**Ship:** Yubel x Juudai  
**Chapter:** 5-6||**Chapter Words:** 4,006||**Total Words:** 20,275  
**Genre:** Romance||**Rated:** G  
**Challenges:** Diversity Writing: YGO Soulmate Aus: L19, 5+ fics; First Kiss Challenge: Yubel x Juudai; One Ship Boot Camp, #08, blissfully; Chapter Set Boot Camp, GX claim, #42, 6 chapters; Include The Word Boot Camp, YGO claim, #50, sable  
**Notes:** Season two! And something here is different, beyond the soulmates concept. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Juudai stared at the cards, picking through them over and over, hoping for the fainest hint that something would change. That he could once again see the bright colors and hear Hane Kuriboh's voice.

Only nothing happened. No matter how much he stared, how much he listened, there wasn't anything to be heard. Bright white alone looked back at him. Even when he listened to people he could normally hear – like Manjoume or Shou or Asuka or Fubuki-san – he heard them as if someone shoved cotton into his ears.

His cards tumbled from his hands and he didn't bother to pick them up. What use did he have for them when he couldn't see them?

_Paper, that's all they are now. Just paper and ink._ No spirits in them, no souls that waited for him to call.

But throughout all of this, there was one more point that was even worse, and he wished that it wasn't. For all the confusion that his soulmate mark gave him over the years, for all that he couldn't remember who his soulmate _was_, and he worried and worried that something had to have happened to them that he couldn't do anything about…

He'd always hoped that his soulmate was out there somewhere. His faith that they lived hadn't wavered in his entire life.

But now his arm was bare and smooth, as if the mark and the counter hadn't ever been there at all. He rubbed at it hard, wondering if he did this often enough, he might at least get an image of the mark.

Just like with the cards, nothing changed. Nothing looked as if it ever would.

He rubbed his forehead, wincing. Nothing had been right ever since his duel against Edo. He wasn't sure of why; just that since that moment everything seemed so cold and so _white_.

In the deepest depths of his mind, he thought he could hear the tiniest of voices, whispering enticingly to him. He wasn't sure of what it said in detail, only that it seemed like a promise. A very wonderful promise, everything that he'd ever wanted and even things he'd never known that he wanted.

Juudai ignored it. If it didn't get him his cards back, then he wasn't interested in it, and it probably wasn't real anyway.

Voices in his head were never real. He didn't remember much from when he was a child, but he remembered that, at least. His parents made it very clear once he got home from the hospital: if he kept hearing voices, they'd have to take him back. That was what the treatments were all about. It would make him better. He wouldn't -

Juudai wasn't sure of what he _wouldn't_ anymore, but the sickness he'd had involved some sort of treatment and he thought it involved hearing things. He must have been extremely sick for that.

He tilted his head back and stared up at the ceiling of his dorm room. At least when he looked up that way he didn't expect to see anything. Not like when he looked at his arm or at his cards.

His arm tingled. Just a little and so much more like he'd slept on it wrong than anything else. He didn't remember anything else like that before.

Juudai absently rubbed his arm, thoughts tugged inexorably back to his missing soulmate. No one knew exactly how tightly wound together soulmates could be. It seemed to vary between match-ups. Some people could barely stand to be around one another. Others couldn't bear to be away from each other more than necessary.

_I guess we're in the middle._ After all, he'd gone so long without his soulmate, even though their bond had been confirmed.

Or sort of. The mark meant that.

Only he didn't have the mark anymore and a tiny part of Juudai wondered if he'd ever see it again. Nothing could erase a soulmate mark. Even when one part of the bonding passed away, the mark could still be seen. Faded and grayish more than anything else, but it was _there_.

He hadn't ever studied what it would take to erase a soulmate mark completely. He didn't' think anyone ever had. Or if they had, no one talked about it. That didn't surprise Juudai at all. Who would want to study anything that could maybe destroy a soul?

That was all he could think of that would maybe wipe away a soulmate mark: a soul being destroyed. Just the thought it made his stomach churn and his heart skip beats, his skin break out into a cold sweat and his breath stutter in his throat. He tried not to think about it. Souls couldn't be destroyed. A soulmate wasn't even a real soul; it was just a word people used to describe someone who matched them.

_But wouldn't that mean my soulmate doesn't match me anymore? Or..._ Juudai swallowed at an even worse thought.

What if he didn't match them? What if whatever happened to him so he couldn't see his cards meant that he couldn't be their soulmate anymore?

His heart stuttered and he lurched to his feet, icy talons of fear swiping all over him. He couldn't stay here anymore. This was Duel Academia, home for duelists: and he wasn't a duelist, not anymore. He couldn't be one without his deck.

There wasn't any use of packing. All he had here were Osiris Red uniforms and he didn't need those anymore anyway. No books – he couldn't even see the pictures in them and he'd never bothered reading most of them – and there wasn't any need for his PDA either. Even when he tried to hold it, he ended up dropping it for how much his hands shook.

_Where are they?_ Juudai wondered as he started out of his dorm room. The others had all visited him earlier – hours? Days? Something else he wasn't certain about. Now they had all vanished and he couldn't imagine where they were.

He'd taken a few steps out before another slash of fear ran down his spine and fairly well against his will, he turned.

The first thought through his mind was that he saw a spirit, and it might not be the kind of Duel Spirit that he wanted to see. Then his eyes adjusted and there in the shadows, far too close to his dorm, there stood a tall figure dressed in a Duel Academia uniform. Not one like his; what he saw here was far more like the Obelisk Blue uniform.

Not quite, but close enough.

The stranger raised one hand and gestured towards Juudai. Juudai started to take a step back, but the soft blur of white in his head had other ideas. His feet moved forward without asking permission from his brain, taking him closer to the stranger. Juudai wanted more than anything to get out oft here, to get into a boat and leave the island, never to return.

What he did was follow the stranger deeper into the forest, until he couldn't see the Red dorm building or the main building or hear the crash of waves on the shore or smell the thick salt in the air that said he was home.

In a small clearing, the stranger turned and stared down at him, lips curved upward into something Juudai thought probably should have been a smile but which came nowhere close to making him happy or relaxed.

"I know you." Juudai murmured, throat dry and limbs weak. "You're..." The name failed him, but the other only continued to smile.

"I know you, Yuuki Juudai. Though you should be my servant, you are not." The tall stranger's waterfall of evening blue hair glinted in the moonlight as he continued to stare at Juudai. His eyes – an odd shade of violet – turned toward the blank area where Juudai's soulmate mark had been. "You are in quite a predicament. You can no longer see your cards and your mark has vanished."

Juudai wanted to say something to the effect of _Tell me something I don't know_ or _Can you get them back for me?_ He'd never been one to ask for help, but in this case, he thought he had little choice.

But words continued to fail him. That white blur overpowered what he wanted to say, in favor of him staring at the stranger almost hungrily. He didn't know what was meant by should have been his servant. Juudai didn't serve anyone. He never had and he couldn't think of why he would serve this one.

_Because he's strong. Because he's wise. Because he can help you._ Juudai wouldn't go so far as to say that the white blur spoke those words, but he could feel them inside of himself regardless.

"You may call me Saiou Takuma. I am Edo Phoenix's manager." The stranger made no move. Juudai couldn't say that he was in danger, but he still wanted out of here as fast as he could get himself to go. Only he wasn't moving. That white blur kept him in place.

Somewhere underneath the blur, something else, something he couldn't define, twitched ever so faintly, so much so that Juudai didn't notice it all that much, not when this guy kept looking at him and white light all but surrounded him.

"Okay. Nice to meet you." Juudai dragged the words out, trying to move over and over and still not able to do it.

Saiou's smile didn't change for a single breath. "You can't see your cards. Your soulmate mark has disappeared."

"I know." Juudai bit those words off, wondering what this guy wanted. The longer he stood there the less he wanted to be there and the more that white blur in his mind wanted to overwhelm everything. He knew he had to get away. He knew that he couldn't.

"I can change that for you. I can make sure that you get it back." Saiou's persuasive voice echoed softly in Juudai's ears. "That's what you want. You want those spirits of yours. You want that soulmate of yours." For a heartbeat he stared down into Juudai's eyes and all Juudai could see was burning white.

"_The one who is in pain._."

Juudai jerked, eyes widening, heart pounding. "What?" His soulmate in pain? No. Couldn't be. Juudai refused to let it be. His fingers tightened and his throat dried to the point he wasn't sure if he could talk anymore.

"_You don't remember them. How __**interesting.**_" Saiou's features fell into a blankness that Juudai had never seen before. His voice held an echo to it now, one that called up images in the back of his thoughts that Juudai hadn't ever heard or seen before.

Every breath of those images terrified and enraged him. He wanted to scream, to wrap his hands around something and squeeze until there wasn't anything left at all.

He didn't want to hurt Saiou. The longer he stared at that nightmare, the more he wondered if Saiou even knew what was going on at all. That blankness, that mocking tone…

"What do you know?" Juudai forced the words out of himself, taking a single step forward before his muscles all locked down. "Where are they? Who are they?"

"_How delicious. I really wouldn't have presumed that the procedure worked so well._" A mocking, sliding taunt of a voice and Juudai hated it so very much. There had to be a way to stop it, and yet if there was, he didn't know what it could be. That deep darkness in his mind that the white blur prevented from moving more than the tiniest scraps, stirred and twitched and heaved, though not enough to _do_ anything.

Juudai's fingernails dug into his palms. Tiny beads of ice-cold sweat beaded down his cheeks. "What are you talking about?"

"_You don't remember that either? Well, I don't see any reason to tell you – unless you become mine._" That smile twisted up across Saiou's lips. "_Give yourself to me and I will give you back your duel sight. I will give you back your mark. I will give you your soulmate. And all I ask for it is __**you**_"

Juudai's heart skipped a beat and then another. Breathing hadn't ever been so difficult in his life. There it was laid out before him. If he accepted this offer, he would have it all back. Everything that he'd missed, whether he knew that he missed it or not.

"_Is it that bad of an offer? I will restore everything that you've lost. You'll never lose it again, I swear. I could even provide you with a new deck._"

One of Saiou's hands moved and cards appeared all around Juudai, each one with a shimmering white square, that faded away to show new images. Heroes of all kinds stood there, similar to the Elemental Heroes, but one important change.

"_These are the Heroes of Light. Aren't they what you would want? Powerful heroes that will help you and stand beside you. No one can ever take them from you. Do say yes. I'm certain that your soulmate would approve. They miss you._"

Juudai raised one hand to reach toward the closest, his fingers ghosting ever so close to the card. He couldn't read the name on it but this one looked tall and strong and powerful, with all manner of muscles and clad all in pure white from head to foot. All of them wore white, he noticed. He strained harder to see the names, but they were too blurry.

"What are they called?" He asked, traces of reluctance in his tone.

"_This one is Hero of Light: Earth. He's quite powerful and his effect allows all other Heroes of Light on the field to be immune to destruction by battle. Strong and steady as the earth itself."_ Saiou – or whatever wore Saiou's body at the moment – smiled a warm and comforting smile. "_Once you accept these, you'll see them all. You want to, I'm sure._"

Juudai wanted to touch the cards, to see if those glorious images would remain there when he laid his hands on them. His heart beat faster in anticipation. Whatever this was, whoever it was, they weren't asking anything of him that was wrong. In fact, they weren't asking anything of him at all.

It couldn't be wrong to do this. He started to open his mouth to agree when another thought crossed his mind.

"You said my soulmate misses me? You know where they are?"

"_Of course I do. I've been watching over them for years._" One of those soft, far too pleased with themselves smiles came. "_I can take you to them, or bring them to you. They're very hurt and without you, they might not survive. They've done so this long, but if they hear that you've turned away from them, I can't promise what they would do._"

Juudai pulled his hand back, fingers tightening once more on his palms. Something didn't feel right about this. That tiny dark spark inside of him screamed even louder, screamed so that even he could hear the faint echoes of it, demanding to know what he thought he was doing, how dare he do this, how dare he step away from what he was, he couldn't do that, he couldn't betray his nature…

He couldn't fall prey to the Light of Ruin.

"I know you," he murmured, staring into those violet eyes. "I _know you_." He'd known who this was all along, even if he hadn't been able to bring the name to his lips. "You're the Light of Ruin. You want to destroy everything."

Juudai couldn't have said, in that moment, how he knew that. But he knew that he knew it, like he knew the sun was warm and grass was green and water wet and somewhere out there his soulmate loved him and he loved them.

"_So what if I am? So what if I do? What can you do to stop me, __**Yuuki Juudai**__? You're alone. There is nothing that can be done by you against me._" Saiou's' eyes mocked Juudai's anger. "_I have seen the future with his eyes. This world belongs to me and there's nothing you can do to stop it. Not now and not ever._"

Juudai took a few steps back. "You're wrong. I don't know what I can do, but it's something. Maybe it's not even me. But _someone_ can stop you."

"_Are you so sure? But you're right on one thing: it isn't you._" All around him the images of the cards and monsters vanished, popping out of existence with little puffs of smoke. "_Because you can't duel. And so long as you can't see your cards, you never will be able to again._"

Juudai's feet worked with him now, pulling him away and darting down through the trees until he reached the docks. He didn't look behind himself, not until he'd already taken a boat and headed out onto the moon drenched waters. Looking at the silver-touched waves sent his stomach lurching and if he hadn't needed to pilot the boat, he thought he would have just curled up somewhere and tried to forget the rest of the world existed.

He did glance over his shoulder once, when he was too far from the shore to see anything clearly back on the island. He could feel those eyes on him and he jerked himself around, staring at the waters ahead.

_What was that?_ He knew, even if he didn't put it into words. That was a monstrosity. That was the worst thing that he'd ever faced, up to and including Darkness, Camula, and the Mythic Demons.

That thing, the Light of Ruin… _That's why I can't see spirits anymore. And why my mark is gone./i Juudai shuddered, hands clenching harder on the wheel, wanting to do something and not knowing what it was. Whether he liked it or not, the Light had been right about one thing – if he couldn't duel there wasn't anything that he could do about it._

He would have to count on his friends being able to do it. They were strong. They would be able to manage this without him.

Another look, but by now he couldn't see anything of the island but a vague smudge in the distance. It looked a lot like how the white blur in his mind felt. He shuddered and looked ahead again. If he could find a way to get that out…

If anything could get it out. Was there something stronger than the Light?

Juudai didn't know. He wondered if he'd ever find out.

* * *

Saiou – or the Light of Ruin – stared in the direction Juudai vanished off into for several moments, before turning and walking deeper into the forest. The Light allowed more of Saiou's mind to take back over. He would remember a bit of the encounter with Juudai, enough so that he'd not ask annoying questions, but not so much that he would cause trouble for the Light itself.

The awareness of the Light turned elsewhere, shifting and changing and twitching. In point of truth, it hadn't expected Juudai to take up the offer. It would have been quite pleasant if he had; it wouldn't have taken long at all to get to the serious business of destroying everything in sight, and keeping Juudai and Yubel both alive long enough to watch everything shiver into non existence.

But now Juudai had departed the island, and the Light made plans for his inevitable return. What it said about seeing the future through Saiou's eyes remained the absolute truth. Juudai would return and fight again, but the Light intended to destroy him, through one path or another. The future had been set, but the paths to reaching that future remained as uncountable as the stars themselves.

_Saiou will deal with this. His Society of Light will get everything in readiness for when the fool returns._

Even without having lips, the Light smirked at that. Juudai was indeed a fool, whether or not he knew of his own true nature. He would learn far too late how much of a fool he was, and the Light so looked forward to that.

It wasn't entirely impossible that Juudai could find a way to defeat Saiou. Many of those possible future paths led to such events. As for what came after that… that was what the Light chose to deal with now.

There was awareness. There was a flicker of a soul tied to the Gentle Darkness. The Light forever found this repugnant, but it would have to work with what it had, for now at least.

What the Light saw, if 'saw' was even the correct word for an entity that could regard all of creation at once, was a demonic arm floating inside of a slender tube. That tube provided nutrients to a degree – the energies that Yubel needed to survive and couldn't get hold of at the moment without assistance. The arm flexed and shifted on occasion, full of Yubel's indomitable will, forged into diamond hard perfection by pain and heartbreak and passion.

**I've spoken to your beloved.** The Light didn't believe in beating around the bush, at least not when matters wouldn't be served by doing so.

The moment that it spoke, Yubel's awareness flickered towards it. Any human viewing would have seen little more than an arm moving around and a shimmer of pure white light. The shimmer expanded to take the arm in completely and the Light could see all of Yubel now, even the parts that no longer existed. Yubel's essence: their soul stood there now.

"What are you talking about?" After all the years that they'd been together – though the Light knew well that Yubel didn't think of it in any such was – Yubel still hadn't wavered from their utter devotion to Juudai.

One thing the Light prided itself on was being quite patient. It had forever to work.

**As I said. I spoke to your beloved. I asked if he wished to be with you again.** The Light picked up a few human traits here and there, and copied others for the effect of it, or on occasion just for the raw amusement of it. Sometimes even the Light didn't know which was which. **He didn't seem interested. In fact, he looked far more involved in dueling than anything else. I thought that you'd want to know.**

Yubel's eyes narrowed, a low hissing sort of growl erupting from the depths of their throat. "You lie!"

**Do I? What would it serve me to lie about this? It's as I've said all along – he doesn't love you anymore.** The Light sadly made a gesture that roughly analogized to shaking a human head. **He didn't even have your soulmate mark anymore. I suggested ways that he could recover it but it was as if he didn't even know you or care about you. He didn't even know your name.**

What erupted out of Yubel's throat weren't coherent words in any sort of language. The Light stepped back as Yubel ranted and raved, swearing vengeance and demanding more information. For now, the Light would remain careful on what it told Yubel. Lies could be easily picked out and exposed for what they were. Truth, tailored especially to the proper needs, would be far more difficult to disclose.

What amused the Light most of all was how their plans for Juudai meshed well into one another. His friends would be his downfall, one way or another, and his love for Yubel would lead to the forging of the Light's finest weapon against him.

The Light almost anticipated the defeat of Saiou, which would lead to the arrival of Yubel back into Juudai's life. Seeing the look on his face when they crossed paths again…

Absolute bliss, and it hadn't even happened yet. What a glorious future remained ahead of them.

* * *

**Notes:** Okay, one chapter to go. Third year. I might write something circling around season four in this world eventually, but I have so much else to do first.


	6. Chapter 6

**Series:** Fate's Heart||**Story:** Embrace of Fate  
**Characters:** Juudai, Yubel, Ocs||**Ship:** Yubel x Juudai  
**Chapter:** 6-6||**Chapter Words:** 4,449||**Total Words:** 24,724  
**Genre:** Romance||**Rated:** G  
**Challenges:** Diversity Writing: YGO Soulmate Aus: L19, 5+ fics; First Kiss Challenge: Yubel x Juudai; One Ship Boot Camp, #08, blissfully; Chapter Set Boot Camp, GX claim, #42, 6 chapters; Include The Word Boot Camp, YGO claim, #50, sable  
**Notes:** And at long last, this draws to an end.

* * *

Juudai slipped out of his dorm, shivering for a few moments in the early morning air. Duel Academia tended to being warm even this time of year, but until the sun came up, temperatures could still be a trifle nippy. He stifled a small yawn and headed down the path briefly before he turned and darted into the woods.

Where he ended up at the end of this was a place he visited infrequently, usually on those rare occasions when he wanted to think by himself. He wasn't sure if Shou or Kenzan or anyone else had ever followed him here.

Once the trees thinned out, the ground led downward to a white-sanded beach, with large rocks peppering the ground. Juudai climbed up on top of one of them and stared at the ocean. Here it still was kind of dark, though if he tilted his head, he could see streaks of gold and blue spanning the sky.

Juudai wasn't sure of how long he sat there, thinking of nothing in particular, breathing in the scent of the salted air, before Hane Kuriboh appeared next to him, trilling a greeting to someone else. Before Juudai could turn to see who'd interrupted his silence, Ruby Carbuncle pounced onto Hane Kuriboh and the two of them began one of their already familiar tussling sessions.

"Ruby..." Johan muttered as he stepped out of the shadows. Ruby Carbuncle didn't even look up, mouth instead closed around one of Hane Kuriboh's wings, as the other one battered at the tiny creature.

"Johan," Juudai greeted with a raised hand. "What brings you out here?"

"Ruby did, sort of." Johan laughed as he came closer. "Said you were here and I thought it was a little too early for you to be up, so I came to see if everything was all right."

Juudai turned back to look at the rolling waves. "Yeah, mostly. I come out here sometimes when it's early." His right hand rested against his left for a few heartbeats. He wasn't sure what he wanted to say about that. He thought – he knew – that he could trust Johan, but this was still something else altogether.

Johan caught the movement and turned gem-bright eyes on him. Juudai tensed; he'd had other people ask before. Even Shou had, back in first year. He hadn't been the only one. Before he'd broken apart, Daitokuji-sensei had three entire lectures about how soulmates and alchemy went together.

But Johan didn't say anything. At least not about Juudai's mark. Instead, he came a little closer and stared at the ocean for a few moments. "This is really nice. Almost reminds me of being back home. Only warmer."

"What's it like for you?" Juudai asked, breathing a mental sigh of relief that he didn't have to deal with being asked those questions again.

Though it almost made him want to answer them regardless. Maybe Johan would have answers that he didn't and that no one else seemed to have either.

"Home? You'd probably call it chilly. Even cold." Johan launched into describing his home, how it differed from here and how much he liked it there. He didn't mention family of any kind, though, except for the Gem Beasts.

He never had. In the three weeks since his arrival, Juudai didn't think that Johan had ever mentioned mother or father or siblings of any kind. Sure, they didn't know each other that well _yet_ but he thought Johan might have said something. Unless there wasn't anything to say.

"And I've got about eight more months on my timer and there wasn't anyone at home that had one going down at the same time," Johan said at last. Juudai hadn't paid quite as much attention as he should have, but that wasn't unusual with him. He rather liked letting people ramble on about themselves without his input anyway. "What about you?"

Juudai blinked. That simple question wasn't one that he'd expected. He glanced at his arm again before he made an extraordinarily quick decision and pushed his sleeve up. He intended to introduce Johan to the hot springs at one point so Johan would see it then anyway. Might as well get it over with.

Johan peered over, a curious expression on his face, and nodded. "You've already met yours? That's awesome! Can I meet them? Do they go here?"

"Not really – not that I know of, anyway." Juudai fidgeted, casting a brief glance to the ocean and back to Johan. "I don't remember them. I've had the mark since I was really little. I think about six or seven. But I can't remember them and I don't know where they are." For a few moments more he hesitated, before he started to talk.

He spoke of the vague memories he had of being sick and of how his parents hadn't told him anything more, only that this was all for the best. He hadn't known how to argue about it and he'd eventually stopped worrying about it. Until he'd come here, he'd barely thought about it at all, and even then, not until that strange night when he'd met Saiou.

"Later on, after I beat the Light of Ruin, I asked him about it." Juudai remembered. "Only he didn't know anything about my soulmate or where they could be or anything. So – I don't know. The Neo-Spacians don't know either. No one I know does."

Johan nodded slowly. He rested a comforting hand on Juudai's shoulder. "You'll find them. Or maybe they'll find you." He started to stand up. "But you know, I think it's about breakfast time, isn't it?"

Juudai's stomach chose that moment to roar at him, reminding him that soulmate or no soulmate, he needed to eat, and it would be such a shame to miss Tome-san's cooking because he moped around. He shook off the brief sad mood and bounced to his feet.

"You're right! Hey, race you to the cafeteria!"

"That's just going to get you even hungrier!" But at the same moment Johan suited action to words and the two of them hurried back along the barely visible trail.

In the depths of the shadows, an awareness watched, barely more than the flicker of an eye and the wrath of a demon.

_Thief. Thief. __**Thief**__._

How dare this thief, this mongrel, this foul creature dare to so much as _speak_ to their Juudai? How did he dare to steal Yubel's own form from the past and pass himself off as a friend?

If Yubel had more than one claw, they would have used them to shred Johan in that moment. But they swore, this state of affairs would not last forever. Juudai would be theirs again and Johan would be nothing but a bad memory.

* * *

Yubel. It was Yubel.

Juudai slammed his fists harder and harder into the pillow, a choked off sob tearing out of his lips, tears staining his cheeks and spilling down to the blankets.

Yubel. Yubel.

That meant all of this – everything that happened in that other world, the fact that Johan could very well be – that he might be -

Juudai didn't want to think the word. If he thought it, then it could become real and if it were real then it couldn't ever be taken back. No way to make it better. No way to get him back.

Dead was dead. Dead never changed. Dead meant you never saw them again.

Slowly he rubbed at his eyes. He wanted to think about this. He wanted to figure out an answer, but nothing appeared that wasn't smoke and shadows.

He'd infuriated Yubel. He'd sent them away – he'd had a reason for it, hadn't he? He thought he did. Those memories remained vague and hazy but he thought that was true. He'd done it for a reason and it seemed like a good one at the time.

Only now Yubel utterly hated him because of what he'd done and not only hurt everyone that he cared about now but Johan as well. Johan, his new best friend, almost as close to him as his soulmate.

That point did shine above the others as well. Yubel wasn't just an old friend, the spirit from his childhood that he'd forgotten for whatever reasons.

Yubel was his soulmate. The one that he'd forgotten and missed without even being aware of it. The one that the Light taunted him with, teased that it watched over for so long.

Was that why Yubel hated him? _Was_ it because of whatever reason he'd sent them into space? Or was it because of the Light?

Juudai rubbed his forehead and the back of his head, straining to remember what had happened so long ago. Try as he might, nothing wanted to come clear. He could recall vague images of sketching the Neo-Spacians, the sort of thing he'd remembered from the moment when he'd met them again, with the added feeling of Yubel's presence there. He'd drawn them when Yubel was there, watching over him. He knew that for certain.

But why? Why was all of this happening? Why did Yubel hate him so much? They hadn't always. Juudai knew that as well as he knew anything else. The mark on his arm confirmed it – the chains denoting that they loved one another, deeply and truly. But try as hard as he could, he didn't remember enough to know what it _felt like_ to love Yubel.

Oh, but he wanted to. He wanted to remember whatever times they had together, to remember what it was like to gaze into those eyes and love. He wanted to remember so much and nothing, _nothing_ refused to come.

Undying rage bubbled in the deepest depths of his heart. He couldn't feel the Light's touch on this but what else would want to keep them apart? What else even _could_ keep them apart?

No one. No one else. This was all the fault of the Light of Ruin and whatever else happened, he would find a way to save Johan from Yubel and Yubel from it.

No. Matter. What.

* * *

Yubel paid little attention to anything else but the captive that they'd taken. Johan lay slumped against the wall, eyes following them as they prowled, fingers knotted against his palms, breath coming in faint gasps as he tried to recover.

He could if he wanted to. Yubel wasn't going to let him go anywhere. He didn't deserve freedom. He deserved only pain and suffering – but not the kind of pain and suffering that meant Juudai's sweet, unending love. No. While what Yubel inflicted on him would mean their love for Juudai, showing what lessons they'd learned from him, what it would mean for this horrid thief would be something far worse.

"Who are you, really? What do you want?" Johan finally snapped. Yubel knew how alone and afraid he must be. They'd taken his deck before he woke up and hidden it where he could never find it. Whatever bonds he had to those spirits would do him no good here. Here only Yubel ruled. Here only Yubel's words mattered.

"What I've always wanted. What is mine and has been mine and will always be mine, as I am his."

Johan tensed, fingers tightening even more. Yubel savored the fear in his eyes. So delicious. They wanted more. So much more.

"Juudai. You're talking about Juudai."

"Of course I am, _thief_." Yubel circled, leaning in closer. They quite enjoyed having their body rebuilt. Johan had contributed far more to that than once Yubel thought he might. His intentions to help Juudai only made Yubel's return that much sooner. "Juudai is my soulmate."

Yubel extended their left arm, the mark showing clean and clear even against their dragon's skin. Perhaps, they thought, that mark was why the largest part of their destroyed form left was that particular arm. They didn't know but such a thought pleased them greatly.

Johan's gaze dropped to the mark then back up to Yubel. "Why doesn't Juudai remember you, then?"

"Because he doesn't want to! He threw me away and refused to even think about me again!" Yubel all but shrieked in their rage, claws scraping so close to Johan's skin that a pale line of red followed their touch.

Then they pulled back. Juudai would come. Juudai thought that he loved this filthy thief. Juudai would come, either to avenge this or to get his thief back, and then Juudai would be theirs and all the rest of creation could burn forever for all that Yubel cared.

"You're wrong." Johan murmured, raising one hand to touch where Yubel's claws skittered. "He's been worried about you – he told me. He doesn't remember you but he knows that he's forgotten and he doesn't want to. I swear it." He rested his right hand over his left arm, where his own counter ticked. Yubel had seen it before. They'd checked when taking him, to reassure themselves that fate hadn't somehow tried to play a cruel trick on them all, binding Juudai to another while they still existed and still sought to win him back.

But no. The thief's counter unwound itself as any other would and Yubel knew that Juudai and he had spoken and touched one another before. If he were in any way a soulmate to Juudai, then the counter would have reacted.

Yubel wondered if his counter would react if they tore his throat out. The existence of the counter _could_ mean that he lived through all of this and made it to whatever that future meeting was. But Yubel found themselves quite tempted to find out otherwise.

"Keep your lies to yourself, thief. I know the truth. Juudai can only love me. Whatever he feels for you or anyone else is purest falsehood. I have the evidence – as does he." Yubel rested both claws on the thief's shoulders and leaned forward, gazing into his mind with their own. "And you'll not confuse him with your foolishness."

Johan looked as if he were about to say something else but Yubel refused to listen. Soon Juudai would come searching and Yubel intended to be ready.

* * *

"Do you think he has one?"

"Of course he doesn't. This is _Haou-sama_. He doesn't need a soulmate." Guardian Baou slammed his tankard down on the table and gestured for a refill. He cast a brief glance toward the door to make certain that Haou-sama wasn't there before he kept on talking. "Even if he did, could you imagine what they would be like?"

Chaos Sorcerer sipped at his goblet with a trifle more refinement than Baou did. His cup contained some of the finest wine available, compared to Baou's preference for well-made beer. "A demon, most certainly. One far more loyal to him than anyone else." Something touched his lips that wasn't a proper smile. "You have noticed, I'm sure, of what he does to traitors."

All five of them shuddered at that. Skull Bishop leaned forward. "Did you hear what happened to Angmar last week?"

The other four tilted closer, eagerness for gossip and tales of what their relentless liege could perform bright in their eyes. Skull Bishop took a long drink of his own before he answered.

"Angmar saw him without his armor. I think Haou-sama _does_ have a soulmate mark of some kind. I wasn't close enough to hear what he said, but Angmar did say something about it." Skull Bishop shook his head slowly. "I think Angmar wanted a promotion. He – he challenged Haou-sama."

The collective shudders resembled more the reaction if a blast of ice wind swept throughout the room. Skilled Black Magician and Skilled White Magician exchanged a single glance before the dark-robed twin spoke.

"How long did it take Haou-sama to end him?"

Skull Bishop sampled his drink carefully before he answered, clearly enjoying having all of this attention on him. Then he said two words.

"One turn."

Again they stared in surprise, and a few moments of envy that Skull Bishop managed to be close enough to even learn that much. Chaos Sorcerer considered for a few heartbeats.

"What happened?"

"All I know is that Haou-sama allowed him the first turn," Skull Bishop revealed. "And on _his_ first turn, Haou-sama finished him completely. I wish I could have seen more of it."

They all did. Such a sight would have been impressive beyond all words. Haou-sama's dueling could only be described as amazing and whatever else the five of them were, they were duelists.

Guardian Baou sampled his drink again. So Haou-sama did have a soulmate. Exactly who this might be, none of them had the faintest idea of. At least not that they'd indicated to him. He wondered if it would be possible to catch sight of the mark and see if that would reveal anything.

_Best not to make the attempt. Haou-sama will let us know if we need to know._

Armored footsteps echoed and all five of them set their drinks down and drew themselves to their feet, ready and waiting as their lord stepped into the room. None of them had ever seen him without his armor, and Baou's gaze fell briefly towards Haou-sama's left arm. He jerked away as quick as he could, straining not to be detected. His throat dried when Haou-sama stared at him, golden eyes glinting.

But Haou-sama said nothing at all. He strode over to the head of the table and turned his gaze to all of them.

"I'm adding these targets to our list. One is a deck – the user of the deck was killed in Brron's arena. But their duel disk and the deck could still be around and if they are, I want them. The deck itself is known as the Gem Beast deck. If found, bring it to me at once along with anyone who dares to use it."

The five bent their heads in perfect unison. Whatever Haou-sama's reasons for wanting this, he would be obeyed in all things. Chaos Sorcerer dared to speak.

"As you command, my lord. What of the other target?"

Guardian Baou thought that perhaps Haou-sama hesitated. But if he did, it was only for a few scant breaths, not even time enough to comment upon.

"A being known as Yubel. They are taller than any of you, with great wings – a demon and a dragon made into one. Their hair is two toned and they have three eyes." Another few moments, this time far more noticeable. Then, Haou-sama removed the armor from his left arm and turned it so everyone there could see the mark upon his wrist.

Guardian Baou did not attempt to breathe. He only stared at it to memorize it. A mark that he recognized as the symbol of darkness – not the kanji itself but something that he thought he recognized from history lessons he'd once had – combined with a dragon's wing – or perhaps a demon's. The two were bound together by a violet chain, with tiny thorns poking up from it.

"Yubel has the same mark as I do. No one else will have that mark."

_Yubel is Haou-sama's soulmate._

Baou wasn't entirely certain of what to think about this. It hadn't been that long ago that he'd doubted if Haou-sama even had a soulmate in the first place. Now the evidence lay before them.

"We'll find them, Haou-sama," Chaos Sorcerer promised. "Both the deck and Yubel-sama."

A wise phrasing, Baou thought, as he added his own voice in agreement. If this Yubel were Haou-sama's soulmate, then they would be at least as powerful as Haou-sama. A few thoughts formed as the group departed, Chaos Sorcerer to lead a division of the army to crush a particular annoying village claimed to be the center of a rebellion, Skull Bishop to contact someone that he swore would be a fine spy, and the magicians twins doing some recruiting.

Guardian Baou himself didn't have anything to do at the moment so he settled himself into his room and considered. He'd never seen anyone like Haou-sama described this Yubel and he suspected that whoever used the Gem Beast deck was responsible for Yubel not being there in the first place.

He didn't stay in his room all that long. He set out to explore several locations where demons and dragons hid themselves. If he found this Yubel, then Haou-sama would be greatly pleased. And perhaps he could even find this mysterious Gem Beast deck.

* * *

He'd done it all wrong. He'd tried to find Yubel. He'd given up on Johan even being alive, when the only evidence he had for that was the word of Brron. He'd killed so many people in his search for any sign of Johan's deck, for any sign of Yubel, or for anything that he could do to protect those of his friends who'd still been alive at the time.

Part of him didn't regret it. He'd made so many bad decisions and done so much that he could never make up for, but he wanted to try. But that little spark deep inside didn't regret what he'd done for the sake of his soulmate and his friends.

If Johan had been really dead, if everyone else had been dead, then he would have done it all again. What he regretted was that he'd believed lies.

And now he stared across at Yubel, who raged endlessly because of more mistakes that he'd made. Now memories flickered back into place, slotting into where they belonged. It hadn't been the Light that kept his memories from him – it had been his own _parents_, trying to take care of him in a mistaken way. He'd sent Yubel away to try to help them, to infuse them with the power of the Gentle Darkness in the hopes this would keep Yubel from hurting others.

With his own power. He knew who he was now. He knew who he'd always been: Haou, the one who carried the power of the Gentle Darkness. How Yubel linked to that he wasn't certain, but he remembered now how his counter expired the moment he'd received Yubel's card.

He fought. He fought with Johan's power added to his own and he fought with the Neo-Spacians at his side and the Elemental Heroes as well.

Rainbow Neos struck against Yubel, finally being able to damage them. Juudai wanted to find a way heal Yubel's Light-tormented mind and he wasn't at all sure if this would work or what else he could do…

Memory flooded him with that single strike, memory that he'd never before imagined. All around him there rose a palace and outside the palace was a city and outside the city was an ocean, the salt thick in the air, and the cries of seagulls sharp in his ears, and he could see Yubel speaking to another, a tall man with a long ponytail of black hair, and a woman with rich dark brown hair and warm eyes.

And he was there as well. Juudai didn't recognize the clothes but he knew himself when he saw himself and there he was, standing next to Yubel, their hands entwined about one another. He moved, without being aware that he moved or how he moved, and when he brushed through himself, even more memory rushed inside.

_Kuragari. My kingdom. Our capital: Shadowhaven. And they – they were my parents._

King Aodh. Queen Kaien. Soulmates, just the way that he and Yubel were. He'd met Yubel at his Soulmate Party and they'd saved his life from an attacker. In due time they'd admitted that they did love each other, quite deeply, and Juudai swore that he would love no other, no matter what. Yubel was his soulmate.

Somewhere in his mind, a wall he'd never known existed fell. He could remember. Far more than just what happened between him and Yubel in _this_ life, but what happened between them in the life before as well. Long days when they'd walked together, sometimes in the forests, others by the ocean, in the marketplace. The way that Yubel used to love certain fruits – mostly strawberries – that Yubel couldn't get where they came from, and how he made certain that every year on the anniversary of the day they met, they had strawberries.

Yubel introduced him to fried shrimp. It had always existed, but he'd never bothered eating it until Yubel brought him some, and he'd loved it from that moment onward.

Together, after Yubel healed from their transformation, they'd visited Yubel's old home. Given that Yubel had been a knight there, it was only proper to visit and offer something to make up for Yubel now being his soulmate and future consort. They'd brought along a reasonable chest of treasure and several other knights who wished to take a chance on a new life in a new place.

Bandits attempted to attack on their way. Said bandits learned quickly that not only had Juudai learned well how to use his powers but he'd been taught to fight with sword as well. Not to mention that he and Yubel made quite the deadly team.

So many memories and so many events that reasserted one firm awareness in every part of him, something that he'd looked forward to since he'd begun to remember Yubel in the first place.

Juudai remembered what it felt like to love Yubel. All along he'd wanted to heal Yubel's mind, and now he knew exactly how to do that. They'd never had a full official wedding – they'd pledged to one another, of course, but the Light ended up ruining everything before they could do anything else.

It was time, and past time, to change that.

When his vision cleared, he could see Yubel across from him, head hanging, exhausted, but no more ready to give up than he was. Slowly they stirred, raising their head and staring at him. Juudai could feel the Light's rage flickering there. Did it know that he'd regained his full memories? If it did, Juudai did so hope that it knew that what he was about to do couldn't be stopped.

He'd set one card already, aware that Yubel sought to get Super Fusion into their hand, and wary about what they intended to fuse. His plan at first had been to divert it to fuse to create something he could use to win.

Now he had another idea altogether. Now he chose Super Fusion because he wanted Yubel to have it, because he wanted to choose something other than monsters that he could fuse.

"I activate Super Fusion! Make mine and Yubel's souls one!"

* * *

**The End**

**Notes:** I never thought I'd end this anywhere else. There will eventually be some fourth season fics set in this world. I'm also fully aware of who Johan's soulmate is and I may well write that one day. I'm also not ruling out the thought of writing out Haou vs Angmar as well.

Also, for any fans of **A Greater Demon**, I am going to finish it in due course: but I need to rewrite it to ensure that I cover all the territory that I want with it. Since it ended up being a rewrite of the entire Haou arc and probably the rest of season three, lots of space is needed.

In August, look forward to **Long Live The King** the backstory of Haou Juudai of the reversal world/Haou of Dark Destruction. Sorry, no sex will be involved at all. And no Johan. But lots and lots of death and destruction and Juudai forging his path as a conqueror.

Last but not least, my next finished fic goal is **Emotional Damage**.


End file.
